Dillon Brooks scored a game-high 27 points, Aaron Holiday added 20 off the bench and Amen Thompson flirted with a triple-double as the Houston Rockets opened a six-game homestand with a 146-117 wire-to-wire victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday.
The Rockets capped the four-game season series sweep by shooting 55.6 percent overall, including 17 of 40 from behind the 3-point arc. Seven players scored in double figures for Houston, which seized a double-digit lead late in the first quarter en route to a season-high point total.
Thompson totaled 15 points, nine rebounds and 11 assists while Alperen Sengun posted 20 points and six assists plus two steals and two blocks. Jabari Smith Jr. and Tari Eason scored 14 and 12 points, respectively; Jalen Green paired 14 points with seven rebounds for the Rockets.
Zion Williamson tallied 20 points for the Pelicans. CJ McCollum added 17 points while Jose Alvarado paired 17 points with seven assists off the bench. New Orleans lost for the fourth time in five games.
Houston shot 63 percent in the opening period and, when Sengun followed his driving, one-handed dunk with a second-chance basket at the end of the frame, the Rockets carried a 39-28 lead into the second quarter and maintained that blistering pace through the end of the first half.
Brooks lifted Houston to a 60-40 lead with his 6-footer at the 6:06 mark before Alvarado sparked a 13-2 run that pulled the Pelicans within nine points. Alvarado totaled 13 points and four assists in the second, drilling a 3-pointer and assisting McCollum for another during the Pelicans’ rally.
But the Rockets steadied themselves behind Brooks, who nailed a 3-pointer and then stole the ensuing inbounds pass before drawing a foul from Williamson and sinking a pair of free throws. The Rockets led 74-58 at the intermission and extended to a 21-point advantage in the third before the Pelicans fashioned their final comeback attempt.
New Orleans clawed to within 93-79 with a 7-0 burst before Brooks again provided the steadying hand. His transition 3-pointer lifted Houston to a 104-81 lead with 1:49 left in the third.
