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 lapses and turnovers as key factors.
“After holding them to 45 in the first half to give up 74 in the second half… obviously that’s embarrassing defensive effort there,” Udoka said.
Udoka highlighted offensive struggles as well, noting, “Not only the turnovers, we had 11 at the half and didn’t get much better. Had nine in the second half… guys looked intimidated, scared, out of double teams to make plays.”
When asked about New Orleans’ strategy against Houston’s double-big lineup, Udoka said, “They were playing Queen a lot with wings… it wasn’t just like the bigs that were getting attacked. Bey went through our guards and wings consistently.”
He also addressed late-game free-throw issues. “They’re free. You got to get up there confident, knock 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 it up in the third quarter, giving up a 38-point quarter… even though we hit the shot, we already had played poor in that third quarter.” He emphasized the team’s lack of aggressiveness and ball movement against defensive pressure. “You got to get them off ball and get some movement. It was a little too stagnant of standing… they looked a little frightened in attacking,” he said.
Udoka also criticized Houston’s ball handling, calling it “probably the worst [he’s] seen since the Dallas game up there… that’s a bad trend to have.” He stressed that with the personnel on the roster, the team should be imposing its offense rather than reacting hesitantly.
The Rockets’ early dominance was undone as 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 fouling out.
Houston was led by Kevin Durant, who scored 32 points, and Alperen Sengun, who added 28 but missed critical free throws in the final moments. Rookie Derik Queen sparked an 11-0 run in the fourth quarter that set the stage for New Orleans’ comeback.
The Pelicans have now won three straight games, while Houston’s five-game winning streak ended. Houston will visit the Denver Nuggets on Saturday, and New Orleans hosts the Indiana Pacers.
