MVP candidate James Harden and the red-hot Houston Rockets were able to win their 10th game in a row last night when they took down the New Orleans Pelicans 130-123. Houston was led by the trio of Harden, who put up 26 points and 17 assists to go along with 6 steals, Eric Gordon's 27 points off the bench, and Clint Capela's career-high 28 points.
Pelicans put up a strong effort against Rockets
The Pelicans put up a strong effort in the match-up behind Jrue Holiday and E'Twaun Moore's 37 and 36 points respectively and even led the Rockets 103-96 at the end of the 3rd quarter before being outscored by 14 in the 4th quarter in the loss.
With the win, Houston adds on to their already league-leading record, making them 21-4. Behind stars, James Harden and Chris Paul, are a supporting cast and the Rockets do not look like they are going to cool off anytime soon
Kyrie-less Celtics get dominated by Bulls
Behind Nikola Mirotic's 24 and Bobby Portis' career-high 23 points, the Bulls, who currently own the worst record in the NBA, were able to take down the Boston Celtics, 108-85. Boston was without point guard Kyrie Irving due to a bruised left quadriceps. Without their star, the Celtics were unable to find much scoring, with Al Horford putting up a team-high 15 points.
Usually reliable forwards Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum struggled to score, going a combined 6-19 from the field for only 17 points.
While Boston still has the best record in the NBA of 23-6 despite the loss, they must find a way to score in Irving's absence.
OKC Thunder continue to struggle, lose to Hornets
The Oklahoma City Thunder proved they still have not put things together after dropping last night's game to the Charlotte Hornets, 116-103. OKC's Big 3 of Russell Westbrook, Paul George, and Carmelo Anthony put up over half the team's points with 61 and received little help otherwise.
Westbrook had a strong stat line of 30 points and 7 assists, but it was not enough to push them past the Hornets. It would be the defense that struggled the most for the Thunder, allowing Charlotte to shoot over 50 percent from the field and behind the 3-point line. The Hornets scored by committee during the game, having six different players score between 12 and 23 points on the night. With the loss, OKC drops to 12-14 for the year. While it still is early in the season, the Thunder will need to step it up in order to be a serious threat in the Western Conference.
