New Orleans Pelicans @ Houston Rockets
Wednesday, January 31, 2024 at 8:00 PM ET
Toyota Center, Houston, TX | Game ID: 22300679
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
HOU 25 29 25 20 99NOP 33 28 23 26 110
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Valanciunas and Ingram lead Pelicans past Rockets 110-99 to snap 3-game skid
HOUSTON -- — Jonas Valanciunas scored 25 points, Brandon Ingram added 24 and the duo combined for 24 rebounds to help the New Orleans Pelicans snap a three-game skid with a 110-99 win over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night.
New Orleans led by five to start the fourth quarter before scoring the next 15 points to make it 99-79 with just under 6 1/2 minutes remaining. Jose Alvarado hit a 3-pointer during that stretch and Valanciunas had six points to help the Pelicans pad their lead.
The Rockets missed eight shots and committed two turnovers in the fourth before Fred VanVleet scored their first points on a jump shot halfway through the period.
“That group that was in the game did a great job of getting stops,” coach Willie Green said. “We were getting open looks or we were finishing in the paint. We talk about Jonas, he got us going.”
Houston's Jalen Green was disappointed his team let the game get away after entering the final quarter within striking distance.
“We just didn’t get (any) stops,” he said. “We weren't scoring and they were doing whatever they want.”
The Pelicans were up by 18 before Houston used an 11-1 spurt, with 3s from VanVleet, Green and Dillon Brooks , to cut it to 105-97 with about two minutes to go.
But then Trey Murphy III made a 3 for New Orleans a few seconds later to end Houston’s run.
“We just continued offensively with our force and our pace,” Willie Green said. “We didn’t allow their physicality to disrupt us offensively. Solid effort on both ends of the court.”
Jalen Green led the Rockets with 31 points, and VanVleet added 16.
“Some guys had tough nights there and didn't play with energy,” Houston coach Ime Udoka said. “It's tough when a lot of guys aren't playing well overall.”
CJ McCollum had 19 points for the Pelicans on a night when Zion Williamson was out for the second time in four games with a bone bruise in his left foot.
Willie Green raved about the work of Valanciunas with Williamson sidelined.
“He was fantastic,” the coach said. “JV was really locked in and focused on doing what was needed to help us win the game.”
The Pelicans were up by seven at halftime and opened the third quarter on a 10-3 run, with six points from Ingram, to extend the lead to 71-57 with about eight minutes left in the period.
Green scored five points in a 9-2 surge after that to get the Rockets within 73-66 with about 5 1/2 minutes to go in the third.
New Orleans was up by eight after a 3 by Naji Marshall later in the quarter before Houston scored the next six points, capped by a two-handed dunk by rookie Cam Whitmore , to cut the lead to 79-77 with about 1 1/2 minutes left in the quarter.
But the Pelicans ended the third with a 5-2 spurt to take an 84-79 lead into the fourth.
Jabari Smith Jr. had a tough night for the Rockets in his second game back after missing four with an ankle injury. He went 0 for 6 and had just one rebound.
UP NEXT
Pelicans: Visit the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night.
Rockets: Host the Toronto Raptors on Friday night.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
HOUAH A. Holiday
AS A. Sengun
AT A. Thompson
CW C. Whitmore
DB D. Brooks
FV F. VanVleet
JG J. Green
JS J. Smith Jr.
JT J. Tate
JG Ja. Green
JG Je. Green
NOPBI B. Ingram
CM C. McCollum
DD D. Daniels
JA J. Alvarado
JH J. Hawkins
JV J. Valančiūnas
LN L. Nance Jr.
NM N. Marshall
TM T. Murphy III
VA Valanciunas
HOU/NOP the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur