NEW ORLEANS – It’s a good thing for the Houston Rockets that they only have to wait less than 48 hours for their next game.
But until they tip off Saturday afternoon in Denver, Thursday night’s collapse against the New Orleans Pelicans at Smoothie King Center will leave them plenty to chew on.
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A blown 25-point lead en route to a galling 133-128 overtime loss to a New Orleans team that had won just five times in 27 games resulted in discussing a need for self-reflection and even words like “soft,” “intimidated,” and “scared” bandied about.
Houston was outscored 88-61 after halftime, seeing the game slip away thanks to inefficient offense and non-existent defense. Twenty turnovers didn’t help matters.
“We lacked our whole identity in the second half,” said Kevin Durant, who had a game-high 32 points but found himself frequently double-teamed over the final 29 minutes.
“That’s not who we are and I hate that it happened like this. It’s something we can learn from and get better from. It sucks coming in here after playing great in the first half and coming out and getting (away from that). That s- sucks.”
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Alperen Şengün, who finished with 28 points but missed a pair of free throws in the final minute of regulation that would’ve extended the Rockets’ lead to two possessions, said the team lacked the aggression that allowed it to take a 23-point lead at halftime.
“We played soft and they played hard in the second half,” Şengün said. “They played aggressive and we didn’t. I think that was the key.
“We just lost focus. They played aggressive and we couldn’t match their aggressiveness in the second half. Bad loss for us but we’re going to bounce back.”
Durant, who made all seven of his shots in scoring 18 points in the first half, was frequently double-teamed in the second, sometimes at midcourt.
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But the Rockets couldn’t capitalize. They shot 44.7 percent overall and 15.4 percent (2 of 13) from 3-point range in the third and fourth quarters after shooting 52 and 53.3 percent in the first half.
“Guys looked intimidated, scared, whatever, out of double-teams to make plays,” coach Ime Udoka said. “Teams are going to double Kevin and Alperen and make others beat us. Couldn’t execute tonight.”
PELICANS 133, ROCKETS 128
FG
FT
Reb
Durant
42:41
12-15
4-4
0-7
2
2
32
Smith Jr.
44:08
5-18
1-2
4-12
2
4
12
Sengun
35:42
11-26
6-10
6-11
8
5
28
Okogie
30:10
3-7
3-3
3-4
3
1
10
Thompson
40:36
11-14
1-1
3-6
4
2
23
Adams
27:49
2-10
2-5
6-10
3
3
6
Sheppard
26:57
4-12
0-0
0-4
7
1
11
Holiday
10:18
1-3
0-0
0-1
1
2
3
Capela
6:40
1-2
1-2
3-3
0
1
3
Totals
265:00
50-107
18-27
25-58
30
21
128
Percentages: FG .467, FT .667.
3-Point Goals: 10-32, .313 (Durant 4-6, Sheppard 3-10, Okogie 1-2, Holiday 1-3, Smith Jr. 1-6, Thompson 0-1, Sengun 0-4).
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Team Rebounds: 14. Team Turnovers: 2.
Blocked Shots: 8 (Durant 4, Sengun 2, Adams, Thompson).
Turnovers: 18 (Durant 6, Smith Jr. 4, Thompson 4, Sengun 2, Adams, Capela).
Steals: 6 (Sengun 2, Adams, Durant, Sheppard, Thompson).
Technical Fouls: None.
FG
FT
Reb
Bey
34:19
11-18
4-4
1-9
1
0
29
Murphy III
38:29
9-13
7-7
2-3
2
2
27
Queen
35:21
7-16
2-3
3-12
3
4
16
Fears
20:12
4-8
1-2
1-3
4
0
9
Jones
38:13
7-14
2-2
1-3
3
6
18
Alvarado
30:22
2-5
2-3
1-3
6
3
7
Poole
24:32
5-13
3-3
0-1
2
2
15
Williamson
21:26
3-9
3-4
2-3
5
3
9
Matkovic
11:07
1-1
0-0
1-2
1
2
3
Missi
6:24
0-0
0-0
1-2
0
1
0
McGowens
4:35
0-0
0-0
0-0
0
1
0
Totals
265:00
49-97
24-28
13-41
27
24
133
Percentages: FG .505, FT .857.
3-Point Goals: 11-27, .407 (Bey 3-5, Murphy III 2-2, Jones 2-6, Poole 2-7, Matkovic 1-1, Alvarado 1-3, Fears 0-1, Queen 0-2).
Team Rebounds: 7. Team Turnovers: None.
Blocked Shots: 7 (Queen 3, Jones, Matkovic, Murphy III, Williamson).
Turnovers: 12 (Queen 3, Poole 2, Williamson 2, Bey, Fears, Jones, Matkovic, Missi).
Steals: 15 (Jones 8, Poole 3, Bey 2, Alvarado, Murphy III).
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Technical Fouls: None.
Houston
33
34
32
20
9
–
128
New Orleans
24
21
38
36
14
–
133
A_16,766 (16,867). T_2:39.
In the fourth quarter with a chance to turn back New Orleans, Houston was 9-of-23 from the field, including 0-for-4 from distance.
“KD was getting doubled in the halfcourt and we just couldn’t get an option from that and go to the basket,” Şengün said. “We couldn’t do that and that was the game for us.
“We’ve just got to read the game and go to the rim because we are playing four on three in the halfcourt. We just couldn’t do it. We’re going to watch film and get better.”
It was even uglier on the defensive end, as the Pelicans shot 69.2 percent in the second half and 75 percent (6 of 8) from 3. New Orleans had shot 34 percent in the first half, including 9-of-29 inside the paint.
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“In the third quarter, we didn’t play with enough energy (or) a sense of urgency,” Durant said. “They got whatever they wanted. We weren’t playing together. We weren’t swinging the ball. We just relaxed too much and they hit us in the mouth.”
Up next on their six-game road trip is a Saturday arematch with the Nuggets, who have won both meetings this season in down-to-the wire finishes, the latest a 128-125 overtime win Monday in Denver.
“We’ve just got to regroup and everybody individually look themselves in the mirror,” Durant said. “Just see how we can be better next game.”
This article originally published at Houston Rockets try to rebound after collapse against Pelicans. ‘We lacked our whole identity.’.