Houston Rockets head coach Ime Udoka openly criticized his team’s performance following Thursday’s 133-128 overtime loss to the New Orleans Pelicans, citing defensive errors and turnovers as the main factors.
“After holding them to 45 in the first half and giving them up to 74 in the second half… that’s obviously an embarrassing defensive effort,” Udoka said.
Udoka also highlighted the offensive struggles, noting: “Not just the turnovers, we had 11 at halftime and didn’t get much better. Had nine in the second half… the boys looked intimidated and scared, no more double teams to play.”
When asked about New Orleans’ strategy against Houston’s double-big lineup, Udoka said, “They played Queen a lot with wings… it wasn’t just like the bigs getting attacked. Bey consistently went through our guards and wings.”
He also discussed late-game free throw issues. “They’re free. You’ve got to go out there confident, take them down, and we missed ours, they made theirs,” Udoka said, pointing to missed opportunities that allowed the Pelicans to tie the game at 117.
Reflecting on the third quarter, Udoka added: “We gave up in the third quarter and gave up a 38-point quarter… even though we had scored, we had already played poorly in that third quarter.” He highlighted the team’s lack of aggressiveness and ball movement against defensive pressure. “You’ve got to get them off the ball and get some movement. It was a little too stationary… they looked a little scared on the attack,” he said.
Udoka also criticized Houston’s ball handling, calling it “probably the worst [he’s] seen since the Dallas game there…that’s a bad trend. He emphasized that with the personnel on the roster, the team must impose its offense instead of reacting hesitantly.
The Rockets’ early dominance was reversed when Saddiq Bey scored 29 points, including 21 after halftime, to lead New Orleans’ historic 25-point second-half comeback, the largest in franchise history. Trey Murphy added 27 points and Herb Jones contributed 18 points with a career-high eight steals before bowing out.
Houston was led by Kevin Durant, who scored 32 points, and Alperen Sengun, who added 28 but missed critical free throws in the closing moments. Rookie Derik Queen sparked an 11-0 run in the fourth quarter, paving the way for New Orleans’ comeback.
The Pelicans have now won three games in a row, while Houston’s five-game winning streak came to an end. Houston visits the Denver Nuggets on Saturday and New Orleans hosts the Indiana Pacers.
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