Rockets 100, Pelicans 95
HOUSTON -- James Harden delivered a whirling-dervish performance, carrying the cold-shooting Houston Rockets to a 100-95 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday at Toyota Center.
Harden finished with 39 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists, with his final assist coming with 51 seconds left via a corner 3-pointer from Patrick Beverley that gave the Rockets a 97-95 lead. Following a defensive hold by Houston, Harden added a pair of free throws.
The Pelicans (23-36) surged to a 93-87 lead when Anthony Davis, who entered the fourth quarter with only six points, completed a three-point play before adding a 3-pointer with 2:58 left. Harden scored the final four points of a 7-0 burst that put Houston in front.
Davis finished with 12 points and eight rebounds while teammate Norris Cole paired 21 points with eight assists. Dante Cunningham added 16 points for New Orleans, which committed 23 turnovers and fell despite outscoring Houston by 33 points on treys.
Houston (30-31) missed 31 of 34 3-pointers but scored 58 points in the paint. Beverley finished with 15 points and nine rebounds while center Dwight Howard added 16 points and nine boards. Harden had four of the Rockets' 15 steals.
The Rockets awful perimeter shooting paved the way for New Orleans to take an early advantage, namely behind Cole, whose 18 first-half points paced the Pelicans.
Houston missed its first 15 3-point attempts, offsetting a dominant performance inside the arc in the first half. Despite those struggles, the Rockets trailed by only nine points when Cole drilled a 3 with 7:47 left in the half. Houston responded with a 14-5 run to pull even, a spurt that included their first and only two treys of the opening half.
Harden and Beverley buried 3s roughly three minutes apart, with Beverley pulling Houston even at 44 with 2:57 to play.
Cole answered with a trey and closed the half with a driving layup and a three-point play to get New Orleans within 53-52 at the break.
Cole keyed a burst to open the third quarter that included 3-pointers on four consecutive possessions for the Pelicans. Cole hit two 3s and assisted on the other two, both by Cunningham.
Harden fueled a 10-0 run that pushed Houston back in front and set the stage for a back-and-forth affair down the stretch.
NOTES: According to published reports, the Rockets will sign F Michael Beasley and G Andrew Goudelock for the remainder of the season. Beasley, the No. 2 overall selection of the 2008 draft, was recently named MVP of the Chinese Basketball Association after averaging 31.9 points, 13.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists for the Shandong Golden Stars. Goudelock, a former D-League MVP who played parts of two seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers (2011-13), signed a two-year deal with a team option for the second season. Houston recently released guards Marcus Thornton and Ty Lawson. ... Pelicans F Anthony Davis returned to the lineup after a one-game hiatus because of a right toe sprain. Davis' return coincided with another lineup change as C Kendrick Perkins replaced Alexis Ajinca. New Orleans featured its 28th different starting lineup on Wednesday. ... Rockets C Clint Capela returned to the rotation after missing three games with a right foot sprain.