SteemSports Presenter:
SteemSports Editor:
The Houston Rockets traveled to New Orleans on Friday night to take on the Pelicans in a potential Western Conference playoff match up. Houston comes into the game with the second-best record in the Western Conference while the Pelicans hold the sixth position and carry a four-game win streak.
The Pelicans, Anthony Davis provided the bulk of his team’s offense, scoring 16 points in the first frame, but his team still trailed by one at the end of the first quarter. His energy flowed into the second period as his team outscored Houston by fourteen in the period to take a 66-53 lead into the locker room.
In the third quarter, the Pelicans built their lead to 21 by the midway point. The Rockets provide a 20-9 run of their own to end the quarter with most of the offense provided by Chris Paul’s 10 third-quarter points, cutting their deficit to 10.
The Rockets continued to chip away at the Pelicans lead, finally tying the game at 104 with just under three minutes to play in the game. With the game tied, again, at 109, the Pelicans, Justin Holiday, hit a driving floater. On their next possession, E’Twaun Moore attempted a baseline jump shot. Demarcus Cousins positioned himself for an offensive rebound on the shot, grabbed the rebound and finished with a layup and foul to take a four-point lead with fifteen seconds left in the game. Cousins missed his free throw and, attempting to follow his miss, he turned his ankle on another players foot, going down to the ground in obvious pain. The game stopped as Cousins was helped off the floor. Cousins was later diagnosed with a torn Achilles tendon and will likely miss the remainder of the season.
With eight seconds left, Chris Paul shot a three pointer and was fouled. Paul made all three free throws to pull within one but that’s as close as the Rockets would get as the Pelicans survived the Houston comeback to win their fifth consecutive game 115-112.
Before Cousins’ injury, he was able to accumulate a triple-double (15p, 13r, 11a). His running mate, Anthony Davis, added 27 points, 11 rebounds, and five blocks. The Rockets offense was led by Chris Paul’s 38 points, Eric Gordon’s 23 points, and James Harden’s 23 points and 11 assists in the loss.
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