NO ‘BIG EASY’: PELICANS TOO MUCH FOR ROCKETS’ MAKESHIFT LINEUP.
NEW ORLEANS — Moments before what was left of the Rockets would take the floor, center Tyson Chandler gathered the eight players who would be facing the Pelicans on Sunday and delivered a message.
The Rockets had learned James Harden would sit out with a sprained toe on his right foot, the first game he would miss this season. They already knew Russell Westbrook would sit because the game was the second in a back-to-back. Clint Capela remained in Houston, out with a bruised right heel. Chandler was a late scratch with painful spasms in his ribs.
Chandler, however, gave the assortment of former Pelicans and Vipers that would play a simple order: “Be superstars in your roles.”
Most were playing roles far greater than any they had all season, or in some cases, ever in the NBA. For three quarters, they were, if not superstars to measure up to those watching from the bench, far better than many would have expected. But with a ninepoint lead minutes into the fourth quarter, the Houston Role Players collapsed, the Pelicans soared and rolled to a 127-112 win that had seemed certain much earlier.
“I’m really proud of the way they played … and how they attacked,” Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said. “It was a lot closer game than the final score. This was a learning experience for me and guys that got some significant minutes and played well.”
The Rockets might have gained from the loss. Danuel House Jr. was particularly assertive, bringing more than a catch-andshoot threat on his way to 22 points. Isaiah Hartenstein and Chris Clemons, who had spent much of the season shuttling back and forth to the G League Rio Grande Valley Vipers, combined for 35 points with Hartenstein getting nine rebounds and Clemons nine assists.
“Isaiah is growing and playing well,” D’Antoni said. “Clemons is a threat.
I thought Gary (Clark) played well.”
Most important, however, the Rockets got Eric Gordon back into the rotation for the first time since his Nov. 13 knee surgery. Gordon played 22½ minutes, making six of his 12 shots to score a season-high 20 points. He had scored a then seasonhigh 17 in his last game before the surgery, giving him an average of 18.5 points per game in New Orleans this season — 10.1 everywhere else.
“He’s going to be fine,” D’Antoni said. “It’s not the first year he ever played. It’s just a matter of getting him back into gear. From here it should get better, but this was a good start.”
Gordon did seem to tire in the fourth quarter but was encouraged by what he believed he will be able to do even when not playing in an arena where fans boo his every move.
“I felt pretty good,” Gordon said. “Obviously, I wanted to be able to do whatever I can tonight to show I can still score and knock down shots and do the things I needed to do. I just want to continue to build from this.
“I feel a little bit sore right now, but I’m willing to play every game along the way. I just have to get in better condition. I felt pretty good. Over the past year, I’ve been playing a little off balance, just fighting through a nagging injury. I don’t have to worry about that and just focus on basketball conditioning.”
With Gordon and House providing a jolt of scoring and the ex-Vipers stepping up, the Rockets led by nine after scoring the first basket of the fourth. But when they began missing from the rim to the 3-point line, the Pelicans ran after each miss. E’Twaun Moore scored 14 of his seasonhigh 25 points in the first four minutes of the fourth.
The Pelicans rolled through an 18-1 run and never really slowed down even when the Rockets got a few shots to fall. Players that had done more than expected could do no more.
“Those guys carry the majority of the load,” House said of the stars that were missing. “We’re fine with it. When it’s time to play, it’s next man up. It’s no excuses. We just have to go out and compete.”
They did that much. They might have shown ways they can help when the stars return. They just could not make it last.
“They’re better than us right now, that team,” D’Antoni said. “They played well, but I was pretty encouraged by a lot of the things I saw.”