Two of New Orleans’ most memorable wins of the 2018-19 regular season came on Houston’s home floor. On Sunday, the Rockets dealt the Pelicans one of their most forgettable defeats. Ramping up for a potentially deep run in the Western Conference playoffs, Houston built a rapid double-digit lead in the Smoothie King Center and never looked back. The Rockets posted a wire-to-wire triumph over the Pelicans, earning a 2-2 split of the season series between the Southwest Division squads. Meanwhile, New Orleans posted its second-lowest point output of ’18-19.
IT WAS OVER WHEN…
Houston reserve Iman Shumpert made a hustle play to grab an offensive rebound in traffic, then later swished a straightaway three-pointer and drove in for a left-side layup, giving Houston a 94-71 lead with eight-plus minutes remaining. The Rockets went up by as many as 28 in the fourth period.
PELICANS PLAYER OF THE GAME
Frank Jackson had his moments both scoring-wise and in the playmaking category, notching a career-high six assists. The rookie from Duke posted a team-best 19 points on 7/16 shooting. It was Jackson's ninth consecutive game of tallying double-digit points.
FOCUS ON: CHRISTIAN WOOD’S NOLA DEBUT
With New Orleans trailing by a significant margin, Christian Wood entered the game in the second half and went on to produce seven points on 3/5 shooting in eight minutes of action. Recently waived by Milwaukee, Wood was averaging 29 points per game in the G League and showed no apprehension about putting up shots in his Pelicans debut. For him to cement a permanent role in the NBA, he may need to demonstrate other areas of his game beyond scoring.
“That I can impact this game defensively,” Wood said, when asked about other aspects of his game. “My length, my ability to jump and my quickness can impact this game dramatically. That’s one thing I’m trying to show.”
During the final two-plus weeks of the regular season, Wood said, “I want to show that I can be a rotation guy for next year. All I need is an opportunity to show what I can do. My skill set and what I can do on the floor, I know I can help this team out big-time.”
Wood noted that New Orleans’ offensive attack is ideally suited to his attributes, as a big who can shoot and pass.
“They like to run things through the big at the top of the key, give them room to operate, a lot of pick-and-roll, post-ups,” Wood said. “I feel like my skill set is (a good match) here with the Pelicans.”
BY THE NUMBERS
41.3, 25.0: New Orleans shooting from the field and three-point range, respectively.
34: Combined turnovers by the two teams, with Houston coughing up 19.
9: Houston free throw attempts, one positive for the New Orleans defense. Rockets MVP candidate James Harden usually generates that many foul shots by himself.