Green scores 30 to lead the Rockets to a 128-111 victory over the hapless Pelicans
NEW ORLEANS (AP) Jalen Green scored 30 points in less than 30 minutes on the court, and the Houston Rockets cruised to a 128-111 victory over the hapless, injury-plagued New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday night.
Fred VanVleet hit seven 3-pointers and finished with 25 points for Houston, which has won four straight and six of seven while climbing to second place in the highly competitive Western Conference.
Cam Whitmore added 27 points off the bench and center Alperen Sangun had 10 points and 13 rebounds for the Rockets, who led by 30 in the second half and sat their starters for most of the fourth quarter.
Trey Murphy had 21 points for the Pelicans, who have lost eight in a row and 17 of 18.
Brandon Boston and Dejounte Murray each scored 17 points, and CJ McCollum added 13 for New Orleans, which, like Houston, limited starters to 31 or fewer minutes of playing time after it became clear the game would not be competitive.
Rockets: Houston's fine recent form was evident from the start. The Rockets never trailed, led by 17 in the first quarter and 21 at halftime.
Pelicans: Zion Williamson has missed 22 consecutive games, of which New Orleans has won two. Brandon Ingram missed his seventh straight game and 13th overall this season, and the Pelicans have gone 0-13 without him.
Green and VanVleet sandwiched a pair of 3s each around Sengun's dunk in the first 3:26 of the third quarter, helping the Rockets build a 75-51 lead.
VanVleet, Green and Whitmore combined to go 17 of 31 from 3-point range. The Rockets shot 18 for 47 (38.3%) overall from deep.
The Rockets host Minnesota on Friday night. The Pelicans host Memphis on Friday night.
---
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
Copyright 2025 STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited.
| Time | Team | Play | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12:00 |  | Alperen Sengun vs. Yves Missi (Pelicans gains possession) | ||
| 11:43 | | Amen Thompson blocks Herbert Jones's two point driving layup | ||
| 11:41 |  | Jabari Smith Jr. defensive rebound | ||
| 11:27 | | Alperen Sengun misses two point driving hook shot | ||
| 11:24 | | Trey Murphy III defensive rebound | ||
| 11:14 | | Dejounte Murray misses three point jump shot | ||
| 11:11 | | Herbert Jones offensive rebound | ||
| 11:08 | | CJ McCollum misses three point jump shot | ||
| 11:02 | | Yves Missi offensive rebound | ||
| 10:59 | | Trey Murphy III misses three point jump shot | ||
| 10:57 | | Dejounte Murray offensive rebound | ||
| 10:55 | | Dejounte Murray misses two point pullup jump shot | ||
| 10:53 | | Alperen Sengun defensive rebound | ||
| 10:41 | | +3 | Jalen Green makes three point jump shot (Fred VanVleet assists) | 3-0 |
| 10:21 | | +2 | Trey Murphy III makes two point driving floating jump shot (Yves Missi assists) | 3-2 |
| 10:07 | | +2 | Jalen Green makes two point pullup jump shot | 5-2 |
| 9:49 | | Jabari Smith Jr. blocks Yves Missi's two point dunk | ||
| 9:48 | | Alperen Sengun defensive rebound | ||
| 9:42 | | Jabari Smith Jr. misses three point running jump shot | ||
| 9:38 | | Alperen Sengun offensive rebound | ||
| 9:32 | | +2 | Alperen Sengun makes two point driving layup | 7-2 |
| 9:24 | | +2 | Herbert Jones makes two point driving layup (CJ McCollum assists) | 7-4 |
| 9:12 | | +3 | Fred VanVleet makes three point pullup jump shot (Amen Thompson assists) | 10-4 |
| 9:03 | | +2 | Herbert Jones makes two point driving layup (Dejounte Murray assists) | 10-6 |
| 8:48 | | +2 | Jalen Green makes two point driving layup | 12-6 |
| 8:40 | | +2 | CJ McCollum makes two point driving layup | 12-8 |
| 8:30 | | Jalen Green misses three point jump shot | ||
| 8:28 | | Yves Missi defensive rebound | ||
| 8:19 | | Amen Thompson blocks Trey Murphy III's two point driving layup | ||
| 8:17 | | Alperen Sengun defensive rebound | ||
| 8:10 | | +2 | Fred VanVleet makes two point running layup | 14-8 |
| 7:50 | | Yves Missi misses two point driving hook shot | ||
| 7:48 | | Alperen Sengun defensive rebound | ||
| 7:45 | | Fred VanVleet misses three point running pullup jump shot | ||
| 7:41 | | Dejounte Murray defensive rebound | ||
| 7:35 | | +2 | Dejounte Murray makes two point running layup | 14-10 |
| 7:16 | | +2 | Jalen Green makes two point pullup jump shot | 16-10 |
| 7:06 | | Fred VanVleet personal foul (Trey Murphy III draws the foul) | ||
| 6:55 | | +2 | Herbert Jones makes two point cutting layup (Dejounte Murray assists) | 16-12 |
| 6:31 | | +3 | Fred VanVleet makes three point jump shot | 19-12 |
| 6:09 | | +2 | Dejounte Murray makes two point driving floating jump shot (Yves Missi assists) | 19-14 |
| 5:57 | | Alperen Sengun turnover (bad pass) (Dejounte Murray steals) | ||
| 5:54 | | +2 | Dejounte Murray makes two point running layup | 19-16 |
| 5:53 | | Rockets 60 second timeout | ||
| 5:37 | | Amen Thompson misses three point jump shot | ||
| 5:33 | | Rockets offensive rebound | ||
| 5:22 | | +2 | Steven Adams makes two point cutting layup | 21-16 |
| 5:22 | | Yves Missi shooting foul (Steven Adams draws the foul) | ||
| 5:22 | | Steven Adams misses regular free throw 1 of 1 | ||
| 5:21 | | Yves Missi defensive rebound | ||
| 5:06 | | +2 | CJ McCollum makes two point driving floating bank jump shot (Trey Murphy III assists) | 21-18 |
| 4:57 | | CJ McCollum personal foul (Jalen Green draws the foul) | ||
| 4:49 | | +2 | Jalen Green makes two point driving layup | 23-18 |
| 4:40 | | Steven Adams blocks Trey Murphy III's two point driving layup | ||
| 4:38 | | Jabari Smith Jr. defensive rebound | ||
| 4:33 | | +2 | Jalen Green makes two point running alley-oop layup (Fred VanVleet assists) | 25-18 |
| 4:32 | | Pelicans 60 second timeout | ||
| 4:22 | | +2 | Jordan Hawkins makes two point pullup jump shot (CJ McCollum assists) | 25-20 |
| 4:06 | | Steven Adams turnover (out of bounds bad pass) | ||
| 3:56 | | Jordan Hawkins misses three point jump shot | ||
| 3:53 | | Steven Adams defensive rebound | ||
| 3:51 | | Javonte Green personal foul (Steven Adams draws the foul) | ||
| 3:40 | | Fred VanVleet misses three point jump shot | ||
| 3:36 | | Trey Murphy III defensive rebound | ||
| 3:32 | | Jordan Hawkins misses three point running jump shot | ||
| 3:30 | | Jalen Green defensive rebound | ||
| 3:24 | | Jalen Green misses two point running layup | ||
| 3:21 | | Javonte Green defensive rebound | ||
| 3:10 | | CJ McCollum misses two point driving floating bank jump shot | ||
| 3:08 | | Jae'Sean Tate defensive rebound | ||
| 3:02 | | Javonte Green shooting foul (Jae'Sean Tate draws the foul) | ||
| 3:02 | | +1 | Jae'Sean Tate makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 26-20 |
| 3:02 | | +1 | Jae'Sean Tate makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 27-20 |
| 2:40 | | Jordan Hawkins misses two point driving floating jump shot | ||
| 2:38 | | Pelicans offensive rebound | ||
| 2:38 | | Pelicans turnover (shot clock violation) | ||
| 2:29 | | Fred VanVleet misses two point pullup jump shot | ||
| 2:27 | | Fred VanVleet offensive rebound | ||
| 2:25 | | Fred VanVleet misses two point driving layup | ||
| 2:22 | | Pelicans defensive rebound | ||
| 2:06 | | Dejounte Murray misses three point pullup jump shot | ||
| 2:04 | | Javonte Green offensive rebound | ||
| 2:03 | | Javonte Green misses two point putback layup | ||
| 2:02 | | Steven Adams defensive rebound | ||
| 1:56 | | Trey Murphy III personal foul (Fred VanVleet draws the foul) | ||
| 1:56 | | +1 | Fred VanVleet makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 28-20 |
| 1:56 | | +1 | Fred VanVleet makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 29-20 |
| 1:46 | | Dejounte Murray turnover (out of bounds bad pass) | ||
| 1:34 | | +3 | Cam Whitmore makes three point jump shot (Jalen Green assists) | 32-20 |
| 1:21 | | Dejounte Murray turnover (out of bounds bad pass) | ||
| 1:09 | | Alperen Sengun misses two point turnaround hook shot | ||
| 1:07 | | Alperen Sengun offensive rebound | ||
| 1:05 | | +2 | Alperen Sengun makes two point putback layup | 34-20 |
| 0:54 | | Jordan Hawkins misses three point jump shot | ||
| 0:52 | | Jalen Green defensive rebound | ||
| 0:46 | | +3 | Jalen Green makes three point running pullup jump shot | 37-20 |
| 0:35 | | Trey Murphy III misses two point driving floating bank jump shot | ||
| 0:34 | | Javonte Green offensive rebound | ||
| 0:33 | | +2 | Javonte Green makes two point tip layup | 37-22 |
| 0:11 | | +2 | Jae'Sean Tate makes two point driving floating jump shot (Jalen Green assists) | 39-22 |
| 0:02 | | Jae'Sean Tate personal foul (Trey Murphy III draws the foul) | ||
| 0:00 | | Trey Murphy III turnover (lost ball) (Jalen Green steals) | ||
| 0:00 | | End of period |