McHale pulls starters in blowout loss to Pelicans

NEW ORLEANS — NBA teams on the ugly side of a beating usually don’t wave the white flag of surrender until the fourth quarter, but capitulation came early Friday night for the Houston Rockets.

Trailing the New Orleans Pelicans 65-42 just 91 seconds into the third quarter — after New Orleans scored the first six points of the period — Rockets coach Kevin McHale decided he had seen enough, benching his entire starting lineup.

By the time the Pelicans finished off a 111-83 rout at the Smoothie King Center, McHale still was about as red as the Rockets’ road uniforms.

Asked why he chose to bench his starters, McHale replied: “Were you watching the game?”

McHale was just finding his second wind.

“We did not have any effort tonight, any concentration, any effort,” McHale said. “They kicked our butt every which way. We missed nine layups in the first quarter. We had no effort defensively. We were bad. We were terrible. They just came out and kicked our tails up one side and down the other. “

The Pelicans (17-16) showed no ill effects of an emotionally draining overtime road loss to San Antonio on Wednesday night. Forward Ryan Anderson scored 17 of his game-high 22 points in the first half and guard Tyreke Evans added 21 points as the Pelicans shot 53 percent from the floor (44 of 83), including 7 of 15 from long range.

New Orleans held the Rockets to 39.8 percent shooting overall and 20.7 percent from 3-point range (6 of 29).

Perhaps even more incredibly, guard James Harden, the NBA’s leading scorer, had no luck on his patented drives to the basket. For the first time this season, Harden did not attempt a single free throw. Harden averages an NBA-leading 9.5 attempts per game.

Harden scored 12 points in 25 minutes, and center Dwight Howard had 12 points in 22 minutes.

Following the game, point guard Jrue Holiday credited forward Anthony Davis and center Omer Asik for their strong help defense on Harden.

“You have to put your hands up,” said Holiday, who shadowed Harden. “Obviously, he creates contact and he’s a great player. But that’s where you just have to put your hands up and let AD and Omer take care of the rest. “

Harden was the only Houston starter to return to the game, but he played only the final 3:26 of the third before sitting in the fourth. Forward Josh Smith was the only Rockets’ starter to play in the fourth quarter.

The Pelicans coasted to the victory even though Davis, their leading scorer, accounted for only seven points in 31 minutes. Davis also had eight rebounds and three blocks. In addition to Anderson, forward Dante Cunningham came off the bench to score 13 points, and guard Jimmer Fredette added 10.

New Orleans coach Monty Williams said Davis showed his leadership by gathering his teammates in the huddle and telling them not to let down their guard after Houston subbed out their starters.

“I thought Anthony was as good as he’s ever been with only seven points,” Williams said. “His defense, his talk, making winning plays. When they brought in their mass substitution, he was the guy who got everybody together and said, ‘Not tonight. I don’t care who they bring in. We’re not going to allow them to take away our momentum.’ That’s the sign of a great leader. “

The Rockets (22-10) saved their legs to face Miami in Houston on Saturday night.

The Pelicans came out on fire, making 25 of 44 field goals (56.8 percent) in the first half to take a 59-42. Anderson had 17 first-half points, making 7 of 9 shots, including a pair of 3-pointers, and Evans added 15.

“We’ve been talking a lot about setting the tone and having teams play at our pace,” Anderson said. “Tonight we bullied them and we controlled the tempo from the start and moved the ball offensively and everybody got involved.”

The victory improved the Pelicans’ home record to 11-4. It also continued a pattern over the last nine games in which they have alternated a loss with a victory.

NOTES: Pelicans SG Eric Gordon, who has missed nearly six weeks with a torn left labrum, is making progress and could be ready to return soon. … Pelicans coach Monty Williams was smarting from the 95-93 overtime loss at San Antonio on Wednesday. The Pelicans led by two points with 0.7 of a second left in regulation, but the Spurs inbounded the ball toward the basket and New Orleans C Omir Asik inadvertently tipped the ball in. Spurs F Tim Duncan got credit for the bucket. Williams said if he had it to do over, he might have had F Anthony Davis guard Duncan under the basket and Asik shadow the inbounds passer. “We had a chance to bat the ball away, and that’s all you can ask for,” Williams said. … Houston F Terrence Jones is starting to run on the treadmill, “which is huge,” Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. Jones has not been able to run since he lost feeling in the lower part of his left leg in early November.