Pelicans (10-20), Rockets (16-16)
On a night when both Southwest Division teams had difficulty coming up with stops on defense with any regularity, it was a defensive play that finally settled Saturday’s game. Trailing by two points with 1.7 seconds left, Houston had difficulty inbounding from the right sideline, eventually watching New Orleans’ Tyreke Evans pick off a Trevor Ariza pass. Ariza frantically searched for somewhere to throw the ball, but couldn’t find an open Rocket. The Evans swipe punctuated a fourth-quarter comeback for the Pelicans, who trailed by nine with 7:59 remaining. New Orleans improved to 7-6 in the Smoothie King Center, owning a winning record at home for the first time this season.