Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
Pounding the paint
New Orleans decided early on that they were going to exploit Houston's biggest weakness by relentlessly attacking the paint. With superstar big man Anthony Davis sidelined with a finger injury, Pelicans center Jahlil Okafor seized the opportunity to overpower Houston with his massive size advantage. Okafor finished with 27 points while the Pelicans as a whole dominated points in the paint, 70-40.
Tough loss
Despite being bullied down low, Houston never trailed in the match until the very end of the third quarter. Trailing by as much as 15 points, the Pelicans slowly chipped away at the lead inside, while double-teaming Harden and Paul on screens out on the perimeter. The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for Houston, while conversely snapping a three-game losing streak for the New Orleans.
Streak continued
James Harden was as contained as we had seen him in the past two months - or at least as close as any team could hope to contain him at the moment. Harden entered the final three minutes of the fourth quarter with just 25 points, which put his unreal streak of consecutive 30-point scoring games at risk. A driving layup followed by a 3-point leaner would end up relieving concerns as Harden went on to finish with 35 points en route to his 24th straight 30-point performance.
Rockets Player of the Game
James Harden: 35 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals
Pelicans Player of the Game
Jahlil Okafor: 27 points, 12 rebounds, 2 blocks, 11-15 shooting
Buzzer beater
Chris Paul continued to play with a minutes restriction in his second game back from a hamstring injury that sidelined him for 17 games. He logged 26 minutes and finished with 10 points, 9 assists, and 4 rebounds.
Next up
Houston begins a four-game road trip Friday against the Denver Nuggets at 9 PM. Houston has won the last two match ups this season.
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Victor Wembanyama scored 29 points, Jeremy Sochan added 17 points and 12 rebounds, and the San Antonio Spurs held on to beat the Houston Rockets 109-106 on Saturday night in their home opener.
Wembanyama added seven rebounds and three blocks while shooting 10 for 17 from the field.
Chris Paul added three points and nine assists, including a drive and feed to Sochan for an open layup that put San Antonio up 104-99 with 1:35 remaining.
After trailing by 22 points in the first half, Houston was within one possession for much of the final minutes. The Rockets went on a 21-8 run in the opening six minutes of the final quarter, turning an 18-point deficit into a 95-90 lead for San Antonio.
Jalen Green had 27 points for Houston. Fred VanVleet added 18 and Dillon Brooks had 16.
Takeaways
Rockets: Houston wasted a good finish with a poor start. After shooting 34% through three quarters, including 17% in the second period, the Rockets shot 60% in the final quarter.
Spurs: San Antonio went 2 for 13 on 3-pointers after opening the game 6 for 7.
Key moment
After struggling mightily at times last season to get the ball into Wembanyama’s hands around the rim, a pair of passes from Paul yielded much promise and thunderous celebrations. Paul’s first lob resulted in an alley-oop dunk for Wembanyama with 2:12 remaining in the first half that put the Spurs up 57-38. Paul and Wembanyama repeated the alley-oop dunk a minute later, giving the Spurs a 59-38 advantage.
Key stat
San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich has stressed the need for his team to be more physical and the Spurs responded, outrebounding Houston 57-46.
Up next
The Rockets face the Spurs again on Monday to close out a two-game set in San Antonio.