The Houston Rockets continue to look the part, moving to 3-0 on the NBA Preseason with a 130-128 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans. Jabari Smith Jr. led the team with 26 points, 5 boards, 1 assist,
1 steal and a block, shooting 4-for-10 from three-point range to help pace Houston’s offensive attack.
The Rockets used a big third quarter to break open a close game, then hung on down the stretch, as everyone got to see some playing time. The Rockets started off, however, running their double-big lineup, with both Alperen Sengun and Steven Adams in your starting lineup and Reed Sheppard moved to the bench. Technically, Amen Thompson was your starting point guard, though it was Sengun often initiating the offense from the top of the key.
Sheppard still pitched in 13 points on 4-for-8 shooting, 3-for-6 from deep, off of the bench, and Adams pitched in 9 boards in 24 minutes as a starter. The other big stat lines, however, came from Amen Thomson, who finished with 21 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists on 5-for-9 from the field and a huge 2-for-3 from deep, while Kevin Durant had 15 points, 5 boards and 2 assists on 6-for-13 shooting, though he was 0-for-3 from beyond the arc.
Sengun pitched in 8 points, 12 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals and a block, though point-Sengun wasn’t without its downside, as he committed 6 turnovers as well.
The Rockets also got 20 points from Tari Eason in his best preseason performance of the new season, and the backup point guard position swung a little over to Aaron Holiday, as he finished with 7 points and 4 assists, while JD Davison had just 3 points and 2 assists.
The Pels finished with all five starters in double figures, though they were led in scoring by Jeremiah Fears, who had 20 off of the bench for New Orleans.
The Rockets finish out the Preseason on Thurssday when they take on the Atlanta Hawks on the road at 6:30pm CST.
