Rockets strong start lands them 118-98 victory over Pelicans

Houston welcomes its fans back to the Toyota Center with a thorough performance.

As far as preseason games go, this wasn’t too bad. The Houston Rockets claimed a 20-point victory over the visiting New Orleans Pelicans following a 118-98 decision. For Rockets fans, this was a welcome sight seeing most of the band back together in front of the home crowd. Just about all of the major rotation pieces saw the floor tonight with the exception of Jock Landale and Tari Eason who were both held out this evening.

Jalen Green led all starters in scoring, posting 19 points in 23 minutes, with Brandon Ingram tallying 18 for the Pels. Dillon Brooks got off to a hot start connecting on his first three three-pointers in a 13-point performance. Alperen Sengun also continued his bright start to the preseason with 12 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists in 28 minutes. Fred VanVleet and Jabari Smith Jr. struggled connecting on their shots tonight, but they were still able to contribute elsewhere, posting 9 assists and 10 rebounds, respectively.

The Rockets stuck with their projected 10-man rotation — minus Eason — up until the fourth quarter as Reed Sheppard, Amen Thompson, Steven Adams and Cam Whitmore were the first players off the bench. Uncle Jeff Green was the fifth player as part of the bench rotation.

Highlights from the bench unit featured Sheppard quickly demonstrating what he can bring to this team as he showed off his beautiful shot, playmaking acumen, ability to get to his spots, and pesky defense, as Ingram can attest.

Although the form still looks funky, Amen knocked down an early three from the top of the key. It’s encouraging that Amen isn’t dissuaded from working on his shot and won’t shy away from attempting open looks like others of his profile have refused to do.

Whitmore also had a rough shooting night, but on the bright side he stayed active. He consistently attacked the basket and you can never be certain that he’s not going to try and put someone on a poster any time he goes up.

Even though this game doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things, it was nice to see the Rockets hold a thorough lead throughout this game, even if we acknowledge the lead ballooned during garbage time.

The Zion Williamson-less Pelicans didn’t have their finest night, but I was impressed with some of the minutes from their youngest players. NOLA’s first round pick this year, Yves Missi, may be a developmental piece, but I liked how active he was. He had a nice block on a streaking Sengun, and he also finished off a sweet lob on the other end. Missi could be relied upon early for a team that is lacking centers.

Last year’s first round pick, Jordan Hawkins, also had a good game going for 20 points in 18 minutes. Hawkins was a player I eyed for the Rockets last summer with his picturesque shooting. The Pelicans figure to have yet another player that can make an impact going forward.

Overall, this wasn’t a bad watch, but I’ll certainly be looking forward to this matchup more when the result holds more weight to it.