NEW ORLEANS -- — Amen Thompson had 21 points and 11 rebounds and the Houston Rockets had a dominating second half to beat the New Orleans Pelicans 109-97 on Thursday night to open a home-and-home set.

Alperen Sengun added 22 points, eight assists and three steals, and Tari Eason scored 21 points as the Rockets snapped a three-game losing streak. They had lost their last eight road games.

Trey Murphy III scored 26 points to lead the Pelicans. Zion Williamson had 20 points and 10 rebounds.

Thompson had 12 points in the second half, including a dunk to cap the Rockets' opening spurt right out of the break that put them ahead for the first time — and for the rest of the game. They later had a 12-0 run in the third quarter.

When Houston trailed by double figures in the first quarter, Thompson had a highlight two-handed slam. He went around rookie Yves Missi and made a double-clutch move to get the dunk.

Takeaways

Rockets: Houston, currently the fifth seed in the Western Conference, is 11-3 against division foes this season.

Pelicans: Williamson was only 5-of-15 shooting from the field, but did hit 10 of 12 free throws.

Key moment

The Rockets never led until a 9-1 run in the first two minutes of the second half, a quick spurt that Thompson capped with a dunk. They led the rest of the way, going ahead by as many as 17 points.

Key stat

Thompson had eight dunks.

Up next

The Rockets and Pelicans play again Saturday night, this time in Houston.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Play By Play

Recent plays and game events

TIME	PLAY
12:00	Alperen Sengun vs. Yves Missi (Zion Williamson gains possession)	0	0
11:41	CJ McCollum misses 25-foot three point jumper	0	0
11:39	Trey Murphy III offensive rebound	0	0
11:31	Pelicans Full timeout	0	0
11:31	(11:31) [Pelicans] COACH'S CHALLENGE (CALL OVERTURNED) [Pelicans] retain their timeout	0	0
11:25	Yves Missi makes 10-foot driving floating jump shot (Kelly Olynyk assists)	2	0
11:06	Alperen Sengun makes 5-foot two point shot	2	2
10:49	Alperen Sengun defensive 3-seconds (technical foul)	2	2
10:49	Trey Murphy III makes technical free throw	3	2
10:36	Trey Murphy III makes 26-foot three point step back jumpshot	6	2
10:27	Dillon Brooks misses 29-foot three point jumper	6	2
10:24	Dillon Brooks offensive rebound	6	2
10:20	Kelly Olynyk blocks Alperen Sengun 's 10-foot jumper	6	2
10:13	CJ McCollum defensive rebound	6	2
10:12	Trey Murphy III makes two point shot (CJ McCollum assists)	8	2
10:05	Tari Eason makes 25-foot three point jumper (Amen Thompson assists)	8	5
9:56	Tari Eason personal foul	8	5
9:45	Trey Murphy III misses 6-foot two point shot	8	5
9:43	Dillon Brooks defensive rebound	8	5
9:41	Kelly Olynyk shooting foul	8	5
9:41	Amen Thompson misses free throw 1 of 2	8	5
9:41	Rockets offensive team rebound	8	5
9:41	Amen Thompson misses free throw 2 of 2	8	5
9:37	Kelly Olynyk defensive rebound	8	5
9:36	Kelly Olynyk lost ball turnover (Tari Eason steals)	8	5
9:31	Tari Eason misses layup	8	5
9:23	Zion Williamson defensive rebound	8	5
9:17	Alperen Sengun kicked ball violation	8	5
9:08	Zion Williamson lost ball turnover (Alperen Sengun steals)	8	5
9:03	Amen Thompson makes two point shot (Jalen Green assists)	8	7
8:53	Zion Williamson makes 2-foot layup (Kelly Olynyk assists)	10	7
8:39	Alperen Sengun makes 14-foot jumper (Jalen Green assists)	10	9
8:23	Yves Missi makes 2-foot two point shot (Zion Williamson assists)	12	9
8:00	Kelly Olynyk shooting foul	12	9
8:00	Tari Eason makes free throw 1 of 2	12	10
8:00	Bruce Brown enters the game for Kelly Olynyk	12	10
8:00	Tari Eason makes free throw 2 of 2	12	11
7:41	Zion Williamson misses layup	12	11
7:38	Zion Williamson offensive rebound	12	11
7:38	Zion Williamson misses two point shot	12	11
7:38	Zion Williamson offensive rebound	12	11
7:38	Dillon Brooks shooting foul	12	11
7:38	Zion Williamson makes free throw 1 of 2	13	11
7:38	Zion Williamson makes free throw 2 of 2	14	11
7:23	Jalen Green misses 26-foot three point pullup jump shot	14	11
7:18	Yves Missi defensive rebound	14	11
7:09	Trey Murphy III makes driving dunk	16	11
7:00	Alperen Sengun makes dunk (Tari Eason assists)	16	13
6:52	Trey Murphy III makes 25-foot three point jumper (Zion Williamson assists)	19	13
6:51	Rockets Full timeout	19	13
6:51	Jordan Hawkins enters the game for Zion Williamson	19	13
6:31	Alperen Sengun misses 3-foot two point shot	19	13
6:31	Alperen Sengun offensive rebound	19	13
6:31	Alperen Sengun traveling	19	13
6:20	CJ McCollum makes 25-foot three point jumper (Bruce Brown assists)	22	13
6:00	Trey Murphy III blocks Tari Eason 's 3-foot dunk	22	13
5:58	Bruce Brown defensive rebound	22	13
5:41	CJ McCollum misses driving layup	22	13
5:40	Yves Missi offensive rebound	22	13
5:38	Yves Missi makes two point shot	24	13
5:12	Amen Thompson makes dunk (Tari Eason assists)	24	15
5:00	Trey Murphy III makes layup (Yves Missi assists)	26	15
5:00	Rockets Full timeout	26	15
5:00	Steven Adams enters the game for Tari Eason	26	15
5:00	Jabari Smith Jr. enters the game for Alperen Sengun	26	15
4:46	Jalen Green makes 28-foot three point jumper (Jabari Smith Jr. assists)	26	18
4:20	Steven Adams shooting foul	26	18
4:20	Yves Missi makes free throw 1 of 2	27	18
4:20	Yves Missi makes free throw 2 of 2	28	18
4:00	Jabari Smith Jr. misses 25-foot three point jumper	28	18
3:58	Pelicans defensive team rebound	28	18
3:43	Bruce Brown misses 10-foot two point shot	28	18
3:39	Amen Thompson defensive rebound	28	18
3:25	Bruce Brown shooting foul	28	18
3:25	Amen Thompson makes free throw 1 of 2	28	19
3:25	Karlo Matkovic enters the game for Yves Missi	28	19
3:25	Amen Thompson misses free throw 2 of 2	28	19
3:19	Trey Murphy III defensive rebound	28	19
3:15	Jordan Hawkins misses 23-foot three point shot	28	19
3:12	Dillon Brooks defensive rebound	28	19
3:00	Dillon Brooks makes 26-foot three point jumper (Steven Adams assists)	28	22
2:43	Trey Murphy III makes 10-foot driving floating jump shot (Karlo Matkovic assists)	30	22
2:25	Dillon Brooks makes 12-foot two point shot (Steven Adams assists)	30	24
2:09	CJ McCollum makes 6-foot driving floating jump shot (Karlo Matkovic assists)	32	24
2:03	Jordan Hawkins personal foul	32	24
2:03	Jose Alvarado enters the game for CJ McCollum	32	24
2:03	Zion Williamson enters the game for Trey Murphy III	32	24
2:03	Reed Sheppard enters the game for Amen Thompson	32	24
2:03	Alperen Sengun enters the game for Jalen Green	32	24
2:03	Tari Eason enters the game for Dillon Brooks	32	24
1:59	Jabari Smith Jr. makes 11-foot step back jumpshot (Reed Sheppard assists)	32	26
1:36	Karlo Matkovic misses 7-foot two point shot	32	26
1:33	Reed Sheppard defensive rebound	32	26
1:22	Alperen Sengun traveling	32	26
1:11	Jordan Hawkins misses driving layup	32	26
1:09	Steven Adams defensive rebound	32	26
1:04	Karlo Matkovic blocks Tari Eason 's 2-foot driving layup	32	26
1:04	Rockets offensive team rebound	32	26
56.0	Tari Eason makes 26-foot three point jumper (Alperen Sengun assists)	32	29
42.1	Karlo Matkovic misses 25-foot three point jumper	32	29
38.0	Alperen Sengun defensive rebound	32	29
37.1	Alperen Sengun lost ball turnover (Zion Williamson steals)	32	29
35.1	Jordan Hawkins makes layup	34	29
28.1	Tari Eason misses 24-foot three point jumper	34	29
28.1	Jordan Hawkins defensive rebound	34	29
6.1	Tari Eason blocks Zion Williamson 's 4-foot driving layup	34	29
3.0	Steven Adams defensive rebound	34	29
1.0	Jabari Smith Jr. makes two point shot (Reed Sheppard assists)	34	31
1.0	Jordan Hawkins shooting foul	34	31
1.0	Dillon Brooks enters the game for Reed Sheppard	34	31
1.0	Amen Thompson enters the game for Tari Eason	34	31
1.0	Jabari Smith Jr. misses free throw 1 of 1	34	31
1.0	Zion Williamson defensive rebound	34	31
0.0	End of the 1st Quarter	34	31

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Game Information

Time, Location & Referees

Venue

Smoothie King Center

New Orleans, LA

Date & Time

1:00 AM, March 7, 2025

Coverage

GCSEN, Pelicans.com, Space City Home Network, NBA League Pass

Attendance

17,636

Referees

Jason Goldenberg, David Guthrie, John Conley

2025-26 Southwest Standings

TEAM	W	L	PCT	STRK
San Antonio	43	16	.729	W11
Houston	37	22	.627	L1
Memphis	22	36	.379	W1
Dallas	21	38	.356	L2
New Orleans	19	42	.311	W4

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Rockets take over after halftime in a 109-97 road victory over Pelicans

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