Houston visits New Orleans, aims to stop road slide

By Canadian Press on December 17, 2025.

Houston Rockets (16-7, fifth in the Western Conference) vs. New Orleans Pelicans (5-22, 15th in the Western Conference)

New Orleans; Thursday, 8 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Houston hits the road against New Orleans looking to stop its three-game road losing streak.

The Pelicans are 1-6 against the rest of their division. New Orleans averages 13.4 turnovers per game and is 4-12 when it turns the ball over less than its opponents.

The Rockets are 2-2 against Southwest Division teams. Houston ranks third in the league giving up just 111.2 points while holding opponents to 46.0% shooting.

The Pelicans are shooting 46.1% from the field this season, 0.1 percentage points higher than the 46.0% the Rockets allow to opponents. The Rockets average 120.8 points per game, 2.0 fewer than the 122.8 the Pelicans allow.

TOP PERFORMERS: Trey Murphy III is averaging 21.1 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.7 steals for the Pelicans. Jeremiah Fears is averaging 20 points and two steals over the last 10 games.

Alperen Sengun is scoring 23.5 points per game with 9.4 rebounds and 7.1 assists for the Rockets. Kevin Durant is averaging 25.0 points and 5.0 rebounds while shooting 57.1% over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Pelicans: 3-7, averaging 123.6 points, 44.9 rebounds, 27.8 assists, 8.6 steals and 4.3 blocks per game while shooting 49.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 125.2 points per game.

Rockets: 6-4, averaging 116.8 points, 46.7 rebounds, 25.4 assists, 9.1 steals and 5.5 blocks per game while shooting 48.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 109.4 points.

INJURIES: Pelicans: Dejounte Murray: out (leg).

Rockets: Fred VanVleet: out for season (acl), Dorian Finney-Smith: out (ankle), Tari Eason: day to day (oblique).

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

The Associated Press