NEW ORLEANS (AP) \u2014 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.<\/p>\n
Trey Murphy scored 27 points and Herb Jones had 18 points and a career-high eight steals before fouling out for the Pelicans, who\u2019ve won three straight after winning just three of their first 25 games.<\/p>\n
Jordan Poole scored 15 points, capped by two free throws with 12 seconds left in overtime that put the Pelicans up 131-128. Houston\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s driving finger roll with 31 seconds to play.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s dunk and pulled the Pelicans to 101-96.<\/p>\n
Durant helped Houston dominate early by scoring 13 points in the first quarter, hitting his first five shots, including three 3s.<\/p>\n
The Pelicans, by contrast, missed 20 of 29 shots in the paint during the first half.<\/p>\n
Durant had 18 points by halftime, when Houston led 67-45.<\/p>\n
New Orleans methodically trimmed its deficit to 13 in the third quarter before entering the fourth quarter trailing 99-83.<\/p>\n
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