Rockets at Pelicans
The Houston Rockets seemingly roll up points at will and look for another high-scoring output when they visit the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday. Houston is 25-1 this season when scoring 120 or more points and that tally includes Wednesday's 139-100 thumping of the Los Angeles Lakers.
All-Star point guard James Harden recorded his 17th triple-double of the season when he had 18 points, 13 assists and 12 rebounds against the Lakers. The Rockets appear solidly entrenched as the third seed in the Western Conference with little realistic chance of catching either the Golden State Warriors or San Antonio Spurs. New Orleans is sliding out of the playoff race as the acquisition of All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins failed to prompt a late-season playoff run. The Pelicans are opening a three-game homestand after dropping a 120-112 decision to the Miami Heat on Wednesday.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, ROOT (Houston), FSN New Orleans
ABOUT THE ROCKETS (47-21): Backup shooting guard Lou Williams was buried in a deep slump until he saw his former teammates, and he poured in 30 points and made seven 3-pointers against the Lakers. Williams was just 14-of-57 shooting in a six-game span before hitting 11-of-17 attempts against Los Angeles. "I've had some ups and down," Williams said afterward. "It's been a while since I shot the ball that well. But (Wednesday) was just a good night for me. I felt confident in the shot and got off to a good start, and I was able to carry it on."
ABOUT THE PELICANS (27-41): Cousins scored 19 points against the Heat and was called for his 19th technical foul of the season and his next one will earn him his third one-game suspension of the season. All-Star power forward Anthony Davis tallied 27 points against Miami and has scored 20 or more points in nine of the past 11 games. The duo continue to learn how to play with one another and coach Alvin Gentry has repeatedly said they won't become comfortable together until they have played an extended amount of games together.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Rockets averaged 125.5 points while beating the Pelicans twice this season and won seven of the past eight meetings.
2. Houston SG Eric Gordon is just 19-of-58 shooting over the past five contests.
3. New Orleans backup SG E'Twaun Moore scored 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting for his seventh double-digit outing in the past nine games.