NEW ORLEANS -- — 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.

Takeaways

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.

Key moment

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.

Key stat

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.

Up next

The Rockets host Minnesota on Friday night. The Pelicans host Memphis on Friday night.

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Play By Play

Recent plays and game events

TIME	PLAY
12:00	Alperen Sengun vs. Yves Missi	0	0
11:43	Amen Thompson blocks Herbert Jones's driving layup	0	0
11:41	Jabari Smith Jr. defensive rebound	0	0
11:27	Alperen Sengun misses 4-foot two point shot	0	0
11:24	Trey Murphy III defensive rebound	0	0
11:14	Dejounte Murray misses 22-foot three point jumper	0	0
11:11	Herbert Jones offensive rebound	0	0
11:08	CJ McCollum misses 30-foot three point jumper	0	0
11:02	Yves Missi offensive rebound	0	0
10:59	Trey Murphy III misses 34-foot three point jumper	0	0
10:57	Dejounte Murray offensive rebound	0	0
10:55	Dejounte Murray misses 5-foot pullup jump shot	0	0
10:53	Alperen Sengun defensive rebound	0	0
10:41	Jalen Green makes 26-foot three point jumper (Fred VanVleet assists)	0	3
10:21	Trey Murphy III makes 6-foot driving floating jump shot (Yves Missi assists)	2	3
10:07	Jalen Green makes 17-foot pullup jump shot	2	5
9:49	Jabari Smith Jr. blocks Yves Missi's dunk	2	5
9:48	Alperen Sengun defensive rebound	2	5
9:42	Jabari Smith Jr. misses 25-foot three point shot	2	5
9:38	Alperen Sengun offensive rebound	2	5
9:32	Alperen Sengun makes driving layup	2	7
9:24	Herbert Jones makes driving layup (CJ McCollum assists)	4	7
9:12	Fred VanVleet makes 24-foot three pointer (Amen Thompson assists)	4	10
9:03	Herbert Jones makes driving layup (Dejounte Murray assists)	6	10
8:48	Jalen Green makes driving layup	6	12
8:40	CJ McCollum makes driving layup	8	12
8:30	Jalen Green misses 24-foot three point jumper	8	12
8:28	Yves Missi defensive rebound	8	12
8:19	Amen Thompson blocks Trey Murphy III 's 2-foot driving layup	8	12
8:17	Alperen Sengun defensive rebound	8	12
8:10	Fred VanVleet makes two point shot	8	14
7:50	Yves Missi misses 7-foot two point shot	8	14
7:48	Alperen Sengun defensive rebound	8	14
7:45	Fred VanVleet misses running pullup jump shot	8	14
7:41	Dejounte Murray defensive rebound	8	14
7:35	Dejounte Murray makes two point shot	10	14
7:16	Jalen Green makes 18-foot pullup jump shot	10	16
7:06	Fred VanVleet personal foul	10	16
6:55	Herbert Jones makes layup (Dejounte Murray assists)	12	16
6:31	Fred VanVleet makes 26-foot three point jumper	12	19
6:09	Dejounte Murray makes 13-foot driving floating jump shot (Yves Missi assists)	14	19
5:57	Alperen Sengun bad pass (Dejounte Murray steals)	14	19
5:54	Dejounte Murray makes two point shot	16	19
5:53	Rockets Full timeout	16	19
5:53	Jordan Hawkins enters the game for Dejounte Murray	16	19
5:53	Steven Adams enters the game for Alperen Sengun	16	19
5:37	Amen Thompson misses 23-foot three point jumper	16	19
5:33	Rockets offensive team rebound	16	19
5:22	Steven Adams makes 1-foot layup	16	21
5:22	Yves Missi shooting foul	16	21
5:22	Jae'Sean Tate enters the game for Amen Thompson	16	21
5:22	Steven Adams misses free throw 1 of 1	16	21
5:21	Yves Missi defensive rebound	16	21
5:06	CJ McCollum makes 9-foot two point shot (Trey Murphy III assists)	18	21
4:57	CJ McCollum personal foul	18	21
4:49	Jalen Green makes driving layup	18	23
4:40	Steven Adams blocks Trey Murphy III's driving layup	18	23
4:38	Jabari Smith Jr. defensive rebound	18	23
4:33	Jalen Green makes 1-foot layup (Fred VanVleet assists)	18	25
4:32	Pelicans Full timeout	18	25
4:22	Jordan Hawkins makes 13-foot pullup jump shot (CJ McCollum assists)	20	25
4:06	Steven Adams out of bounds bad pass turnover	20	25
4:06	Javonte Green enters the game for Herbert Jones	20	25
3:56	Jordan Hawkins misses 25-foot three point jumper	20	25
3:53	Steven Adams defensive rebound	20	25
3:51	Javonte Green personal foul	20	25
3:51	Cam Whitmore enters the game for Jabari Smith Jr.	20	25
3:40	Fred VanVleet misses 25-foot three point jumper	20	25
3:36	Trey Murphy III defensive rebound	20	25
3:32	Jordan Hawkins misses 23-foot three point shot	20	25
3:30	Jalen Green defensive rebound	20	25
3:24	Jalen Green misses two point shot	20	25
3:21	Javonte Green defensive rebound	20	25
3:10	CJ McCollum misses two point shot	20	25
3:08	Jae'Sean Tate defensive rebound	20	25
3:02	Javonte Green shooting foul	20	25
3:02	Jae'Sean Tate makes free throw 1 of 2	20	26
3:02	Dejounte Murray enters the game for CJ McCollum	20	26
3:02	Daniel Theis enters the game for Yves Missi	20	26
3:02	Jae'Sean Tate makes free throw 2 of 2	20	27
2:40	Jordan Hawkins misses driving floating jump shot	20	27
2:38	Pelicans offensive team rebound	20	27
2:38	shot clock turnover	20	27
2:29	Fred VanVleet misses 9-foot pullup jump shot	20	27
2:27	Fred VanVleet offensive rebound	20	27
2:25	Fred VanVleet misses driving layup	20	27
2:22	Pelicans defensive team rebound	20	27
2:06	Dejounte Murray misses 24-foot three point pullup jump shot	20	27
2:04	Javonte Green offensive rebound	20	27
2:03	Javonte Green misses two point shot	20	27
2:02	Steven Adams defensive rebound	20	27
1:56	Trey Murphy III personal foul	20	27
1:56	Fred VanVleet makes free throw 1 of 2	20	28
1:56	Alperen Sengun enters the game for Steven Adams	20	28
1:56	Fred VanVleet makes free throw 2 of 2	20	29
1:46	Dejounte Murray out of bounds bad pass turnover	20	29
1:46	Amen Thompson enters the game for Fred VanVleet	20	29
1:34	Cam Whitmore makes 24-foot three point jumper (Jalen Green assists)	20	32
1:21	Dejounte Murray out of bounds bad pass turnover	20	32
1:09	Alperen Sengun misses 4-foot two point shot	20	32
1:07	Alperen Sengun offensive rebound	20	32
1:05	Alperen Sengun makes two point shot	20	34
54.1	Jordan Hawkins misses 24-foot three point jumper	20	34
52.1	Jalen Green defensive rebound	20	34
46.0	Jalen Green makes 24-foot running pullup jump shot	20	37
35.1	Trey Murphy III misses two point shot	20	37
34.1	Javonte Green offensive rebound	20	37
33.1	Javonte Green makes tip shot	22	37
11.1	Jae'Sean Tate makes 5-foot driving floating jump shot (Jalen Green assists)	22	39
3.1	Brandon Boston enters the game for Javonte Green	22	39
2.0	Jae'Sean Tate personal foul	22	39
2.0	Fred VanVleet enters the game for Alperen Sengun	22	39
0.1	Trey Murphy III lost ball turnover (Jalen Green steals)	22	39
0.0	End of the 1st Quarter	22	39

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Game Information

Time, Location & Referees

Venue

Smoothie King Center

New Orleans, LA

Date & Time

1:00 AM, December 27, 2024

Coverage

NBA League Pass, GCSEN, Space City Home Network

Attendance

16,052

Referees

Brent Barnaky, Brian Forte, J.D. Ralls

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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Green scores 30 to lead the Rockets to a 128-111 victory over the hapless Pelicans

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