HOUSTON (AP) — Dillon Brooks had 27 points, Alperen Sengun and Aaron Holiday added 20 each and the Houston Rockets sailed to a 146-117 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday night.
Houston never trailed in its second straight victory over the Pelicans after getting a 109-97 win in New Orleans on Thursday night.
A 3-pointer by CJ McCollum got the Pelicans within 11 with 10 seconds left in the first half before Brooks made a 3-pointer and a Pelicans turnover gave Houston the ball back.
Brooks made two free throws to end the second and the Rockets opened the third with an 8-4 run to extend the lead to 82-62 with 9 1/2 minutes left in the quarter.
The Rockets led by 26 entering the fourth and an 8-2 run made it 117-85 with 10 minutes left.
Houston's Amen Thompson was a rebound shy of a triple-double with 15 points and 11 assists when he was injured with less than six minutes left. He limped to the locker room, but the team didn’t immediately provide details on his injury.
Zion Williamson scored 20 for the Pelicans and Jose Alvarado had 17 off the bench. McCollum also had 17.
Takeaways
Pelicans: They looked thoroughly overmatched in losing for the fourth time in five games.
Rockets: Houston got off to a good start Saturday in taking advantage of a schedule that has the team playing six straight home games. The Rockets look to get on a roll and move up in the standings after dropping to fifth in the Western Conference amid recent struggles.
Key moment
Houston’s big run spanning the end of the second quarter and the opening minutes of the third.
Key stat
The Rockets improved to 7-2 in games where Brooks scores at least 20 points.
Up next
The Pelicans host Memphis on Sunday night and the Rockets get a visit from Orlando on Monday night.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
Kristie Rieken, The Associated Press
