Rockets vs. Pelicans recap: Career nights for Capela and Harden earn victory

The Houston Rockets extend their winning streak to 10 games with a 130-123 victory over the Pelicans.

The Rockets (21-4) take another tremendous comeback effort and finish it off with a victory over the New Orleans Pelicans (14-14). With Houston down by 13, James Harden and Clint Capela have career nights on an evening where defense was tough to find.

As for the Pelicans, the same old storyline arose: their inability to finish games with a nice lead going into the 4th quarter. Credit the Rockets for staying the course and fighting back to earn their 10th straight win. Let’s look at tonight’s stats:

Notable stats

James Harden: 26 points, 17 assists, 6 steals

Clint Capela: 28 points, 8 rebounds, 5 blocks

Chris Paul: 20 points, 6 assists, 3 steals

Recap

On a night where there was no defense to be found, it was pure shootout in Houston. While the Pelicans hoped to stay hot, the Rockets offense kept coming. As a matter of fact, both teams managed to score nearly 80 points before halftime. HALFTIME!!!

Meanwhile, Clint Capela didn’t care who was in front of him tonight. As Harden looked for him, Capela delivered and earned himself a career high 28 points.  As a whole, the Rockets had 5 players score in double digits, including 27 points off the bench from Eric Gordon.

Even though New Orleans was without Anthony Davis, the team still got production by other players. Because of Jrue Holiday, DeMarcus Cousins, and E’Twaun Moore, the Pelicans almost won this game. However, Harden’s 17 assists proved to be too much and the Rockets offense was on all night.

While there will be some things to clean up on defense, it can’t be stated enough what CP3 means to this team. His impact on both sides of the court has definitely appeared. Tonight he had 3 big steals and on offense he chimed in with 20 points of his own. EG regained his stroke tonight, going 5/6 from behind the arc.

Also worth mentioning, New Orleans made 18 3’s, while the Rockets made 17. So now, the Rockets find ways to win when their favorite shot isn’t always falling. This team has proven it can win in several different ways.

Highlights

James Harden asked Darius Miller to dance. He had no choice but to oblige him:

#BEARDING pic.twitter.com/RNw26qGxzb

— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) December 12, 2017

Maybe Harden was a great dancer at prom too!

CP3 and Capela continue to build upon great chemistry:

Squad battling! pic.twitter.com/1apuAtmj0a

— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) December 12, 2017

Clint has to feel spoiled catching lobs from Harden and Paul night in and night out.

Chris Paul doing Chris Paul work in the paint:

https://twitter.com/HoustonRockets/status/940391067249233933

Capela also did some work on defensive end. Including this block on Boogie:

https://twitter.com/HoustonRockets/status/940399001148551168

No, no, no, Mr. Cousins. Not in Clint’s house.

Overall, another great victory for a red hot Rockets squad. In the meantime, the team can focus on getting back to good defensive habits. The Rockets host the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday. Follow us on Twitter and like us Facebook for more Houston Rockets!

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