Rockets pull away in second half against Pelicans
HOUSTON (AP) -- James Harden scored 24 points to lead balanced scoring by Houston and the Rockets overcame a double-digit deficit for a 108-101 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday night.
The Pelicans led by as many as 14 early, but Houston had whittled down the lead by halftime and led by two after three quarters.
New Orleans led by one after a 3-pointer by Toney Douglas with about 9 minutes left. Houston then used a 10-0 run, with the first five points from Harden, to make it 96-87 just 4 minutes later. The Pelicans had three turnovers and missed eight shots to help the Rockets pull away.
New Orleans scored the next five points to cut the lead to four, but Alonzo Gee slipped and fell while guarding Harden and he was left wide open for a 3-pointer that made it 99-92 with 3:13 left.
Anthony Davis had 29 points and 13 rebounds for the Pelicans, who dropped their fourth straight. It was the second game back for both Tyreke Evans and Norris Cole, who made their debuts on Tuesday after sitting out all season with injuries. Evans had 10 points and eight assists and Cole added five points and three rebounds.
The Rockets had six players score at least 10 points. Terrence Jones had 15, Corey Brewer added 14, Trevor Ariza 13, Ty Lawson 12 and Patrick Beverley 10.
The Pelicans scored the last seven points of the third quarter, capped by a 3-pointer from Ryan Anderson, to cut the lead to 84-82.
The Rockets were up 59-54 after five straight points by Lawson with about 8 minutes left in the third. But Davis got going after that, scoring five points, highlighted by a nifty, one-handed floating jumper, in a 9-2 run that gave New Orleans a 63-61 lead halfway through the period.
The Pelicans were clinging to a two-point lead a couple of minutes later before Houston scored seven points in a row to make it 75-70 with just more than 3 minutes left in the quarter. Harden scored the last four points in that run with a pair of layups sandwiched around a steal by Brewer.
Cole had a three-point play before Brewer scored all of Houston's points in a 7-2 run that pushed its lead to 82-75.
New Orleans was up by 11 in the second quarter before the Rockets used a 13-1 run to take their first lead of the game, 40-39, about 4 minutes before halftime. Beverley had a 3-pointer in that span and Ariza capped it with a three-point play.
Gee had a putback dunk a few seconds after that for the first field goal by the Pelicans since a 3-pointer by Anderson with 9:17 left in the quarter. Gee's shot started a 7-0 spurt that put New Orleans back on top 46-40.
The Pelicans led 50-48 at halftime.
TIP-INS
Pelicans: Evans got a technical foul midway through the second quarter when he hit Harden in the face when the two were fighting for a loose ball. ... Evans had been out after arthroscopic surgery on his right knee and Cole was sidelined with a left ankle sprain.
Rockets: Beverley received a technical foul in the third quarter for arguing a call. ... Dwight Howard finished with 16 rebounds and three blocks.
UP NEXT
Pelicans: Host Cleveland on Friday.
Rockets: At Dallas on Friday.
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