NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Saddiq Bey scored 21 of his season-high 29 points after halftime, and the New Orleans Pelicans overcame a 25-point, third-quarter deficit to beat the Houston Rockets 133-128 in overtime on Thursday night.
Trey Murphy scored 27 points and Herb Jones had 18 points and a career-high eight steals before fouling out for the Pelicans, who’ve won three straight after winning just three of their first 25 games.
Jordan Poole scored 15 points, capped by two free throws with 12 seconds left in overtime that put the Pelicans up 131-128. Houston’s Reed Sheppard missed two shots from 3-point range in the final seconds before Bey got the rebound and hit game-sealing free throws with 2 seconds left in the extra period as a jubilant crowd that had been on its feet since the final minutes of regulation celebrated the unlikely comeback.
Kevin Durant scored 32 points and Alperen Sengun had 28 for Houston, but Sengun was unable to get off a shot for the win after dribbling into the paint in the final seconds of regulation.
Sengun missed two free throws with 43 seconds left in the fourth quarter, allowing New Orleans to complete the second-half comeback and tie it at 117 on Bey’s driving finger roll with 31 seconds to play.
Rookie Derik Queen had 16 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks, and his 18-foot jumper sparked an 11-0 run early in the fourth quarter. The surge ended with Bey’s dunk and pulled the Pelicans to 101-96.
Durant helped Houston dominate early by scoring 13 points in the first quarter, hitting his first five shots, including three 3s.
The Pelicans, by contrast, missed 20 of 29 shots in the paint during the first half.
Durant had 18 points by halftime, when Houston led 67-45.
New Orleans methodically trimmed its deficit to 13 in the third quarter before entering the fourth quarter trailing 99-83.
Up next
Rockets: At the Denver Nuggets on Saturday.
Pelicans: Host the Indiana Pacers on Saturday.
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AP NBA: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NBA
Brett Martel, The Associated Press
