On February 23, Beijing time, the 2023-24 NBA regular season was in full swing, and the Houston Rockets, who had been resting for many days, embarked on an away trip against the New Orleans Pelicans. The Rockets' form has been quite sluggish since entering February, losing six of their eight games, and they currently have a 24-30 record and are in 12th place in the West. The Pelicans have won three in a row and are currently in sixth place in the West with 33 wins and 22 losses. In this game, VanVleet returned, the Rockets played with all the main forces, and Ingram was absent from the Pelicans.
In the first quarter of the game, the two teams played a stalemate, and the scores took the lead alternately; After the battle reached 22-20, the Rockets suddenly lost power, and the Pelicans took the opportunity to play a wave of small surges to take the lead and open up the difference; At the end of the first quarter, the Pelicans led by four points at 31-27; CJ became the only player from both teams to score in double figures in the first quarter, scoring 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting, including 2-of-2 3-pointers.
The rocket suddenly lost power in the second quarter, and the pelicans made a force to open up the difference! In this section, the Pelicans mainly relied on impacting the basket to score points, only 3 of 9 outside 3-pointers, and the inside scores were basically under the basket, only conceding 4 shots, which was quite efficient! The team scored 32 points in a single quarter; The Rockets felt average on the outside in this quarter, 3 of 9, all of their inside shots were in the paint area, the shooting rate was less than 5 percent, and they scored 23 points in a single quarter; At halftime, the Pelicans led by 13 points at 63-50!
In the third quarter, the Rockets felt warmer, but the Pelicans continued to remain strong, and the point difference continued to be widened! In this quarter, the Pelicans opened on the outside, scored 5 3-pointers, and the inside line was even more unstoppable, shooting 10 of 14, which was quite efficient, and scored another 38 points in a single quarter! The Rockets were limited both inside and outside in this quarter, shooting only 2 3-pointers from the outside, and basically shooting under the basket from the inside, hitting only 4 shots. The Pelicans opened up by nine points in the quarter, bringing the total score to 101-79 and entering the fourth quarter with a 22-point advantage;
In the last quarter, the Rockets tried to use the outside line to chase points, but the shooting rate was not good, and they frequently hit the iron. can only continue to impact the basket to create opportunities, but fortunately, the shooting rate is not low; However, the Pelicans did not slip and held on to the lead, and in the end, the Rockets failed to reverse the defeat and lost 105-127.
Statistics: Pelicans: Zion 27 points, 3 rebounds, 10 assists and 2 steals, Jones 17 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 6 steals, Valanciunas 20 points, 14 rebounds and 3 assists, McCollum 28 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists, Murphy 13 points, 3 rebounds, 3 steals and 3 blocks, Marshall 6 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists, Zeller 2 points and 2 boards, Alvarado 11 points, 2 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 blocks;
Rockets: Amen Thompson 22 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks, Whitmore 13 points, 4 rebounds and 2 blocks, Smith 9 points and 4 boards, Dillon 7 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists, Shin Jing 20 points, 9 rebounds and 2 assists, VanVleet 7 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals, Jalen Green 10 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists, Jeff Green 8 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists, Bullock 3 points, Tate 4 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists, Landale 2 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists. A new season of sports