Jonas Valanciunas dominated the paint en route to a big scoring night. Jose Alvarado lurked in the passing lanes on his way to a big steals night. With their center doing damage on offense and their relentless backup point guard everywhere on defense, the Pelicans rolled to a much-needed win Sunday over the Rockets, doing so comfortably. New Orleans previously struggled to contain opponents over the past week, but broke open the Southwest Division matchup by holding Houston to 17 third-quarter points.
Valanciunas was a handful and then some for Houston’s frontcourt, racking up 32 points on efficient 12/18 shooting, to go with 10 rebounds. Alvarado spearheaded an opportunistic New Orleans defense that swarmed the Rockets, notching a career-high six steals, as the visitors committed 20-plus turnovers. The Pelicans feasted on those miscues, scoring a chunk of their baskets in transition.
“Very pleased with our overall effort, and we sustained it for 48 minutes, pretty much,” head coach Willie Green said. “Everybody that checked into the game came in and played with purpose. It’s beautiful basketball to watch when we do it like that.”
IT WAS OVER WHEN…
Naji Marshall closed out the game’s third-quarter scoring by dropping in two free throws, giving New Orleans a 26-point lead at 98-72. The Pelicans trailed by three after the opening quarter, but then outscored the Rockets 69-40 in the middle periods.
PELICANS PLAYER OF THE GAME
Valanciunas is needed to do a lot offensively as long as Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum are sidelined. He was more than up to the task Sunday, carrying the attack with 15 points in the first half, then 17 more in the second. The Lithuanian relied on every aspect of his arsenal, starting out with jumpers, posting up some and using his size advantage to overpower Rockets defenders under the hoop.
BY THE NUMBERS
6: New Orleans players in double-digit scoring, including reserves Alvarado and Willy Hernangomez (12 points).
51.6: New Orleans shooting percentage from the field, despite a below-average night from three-point range (31.2 percent on 10/32).
30: New Orleans assists, the second straight game it has compiled 30-plus.
REVISITING FANDUEL KEYS TO THE GAME
DEFENSIVE FOCUS
There was nowhere to go but up after Friday’s performance of allowing 142 points to Charlotte. Houston started quickly with 32 first-quarter points, but NOLA’s defense got progressively more disruptive in forcing turnovers and preventing good looks by the visitors.
ROOKIE TAKEOVER
Jalen Green continued his promising second half of the season for Houston, scoring 17 points on 6/13 shooting. Herbert Jones had an unusually quiet night offensively, but made his presence felt in other ways.
MATCHUP TO WATCH
Houston’s Christian Wood averaged 21.3 points vs. NOLA in the first three meetings of the season, but was held to eight points this time on 3/9 shooting. Valanciunas, Hernangomez and Jaxson Hayes (21 points, six rebounds, two steals) handily outplayed the Rockets’ bigs.