On the morning of February 1, Beijing time, the Rockets hosted the 8th Pelicans in the West. It's also an important slot match. As a result, the Rockets fell behind from the start and ended up losing 99-110 at home. The Rockets' current shortcomings are too obvious, there are no killer moves, the interior defense is too poor, it is easy to be penetrated by the opponent, and it is too difficult to enter the playoffs.
After the game began, the Pelicans hit a three-pointer, and the Rockets scored four straight points through Green. After the return of Smith Jr., Shin Kyung's defensive quality on the inside line has improved a lot, which also makes Valanciunas's advantages unable to play. However, the Pelicans hit 2+1 through Ingram and then hit back-to-back three-pointers, and the Rockets were forced to take a timeout. After the timeout, Green and Lao Fan each hit a three-pointer, and Shin Jing attacked Valanciunas in the move. But the Rockets let the opponent go over 30 points in the first quarter, and the three-point defense was too poor! At the end of the first quarter, the Rockets trailed 25-33.
In the second quarter, the Pelicans' offensive momentum continued unabated, and the margin widened to double digits, but Whitmore hit three three-pointers in a row and made fouls on offense, scoring 11 points in a row to help the Rockets stabilize the situation. In the subsequent game, the score difference basically remained at about 7 points, and the Rockets were unable to overtake, and then the three points were too bad, and in a blink of an eye, they were stretched to 10 points. If the other players' three points don't go all the time, this game is a bit of a problem. Jalen Green makes a violent dunk after breaking through the two-man defense. Then assisted Dillon to score a sneak attack under the basket. At the end of the second quarter, the Rockets trailed 54-61.
In the third quarter, the Rockets' continuous offense was fruitless, and the margin returned to 10 points. The Rockets couldn't stop Ingram directly, and Smith Jr. became a blacksmith again today, and he hasn't scored a point so far. Immediately afterwards, it was stretched to 14 points, and the game was a bit hanging. Young players are too inconsistent, and winning against the Lakers is a bit floating. However, then, the Rockets played a wave of 9:2 mini-climax, chasing the difference to 7 points. The Rockets then closed the gap to just two points thanks to the excellent play of Amen Thompson and Whitmore. At the end of the third quarter, the Rockets trailed 79-84.
In the fourth quarter, the Rockets were beaten 7-0 at the beginning, and the difference was 12 points. Shen Jing made 4 of 9 shots, and Xiao Jia shot 0 of 6, and this kind of play was too difficult to win. Green is another layup walk, and it's not easy to do. In the fourth quarter, the Rockets shot 0 of 9 in the first 6 minutes, and they still want to win with such a feeling? With Valanciunas hitting one of two free throws, the Rockets fell behind by 20 points at 79:99, and went directly to the bench. Van Vliet was too lonely, and he finally chased the points, and he wanted to perform on his own, but he was capped. In the end, the Rockets lost to the Pelicans 99-110.