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BEIJING, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- The Houston Rockets kept their winning record in NBA Global Games China tour as they eased past the New Orleans Pelicans 116-104 here on Wednesday.
The Rockets experienced totally different winning paths in these two games. They just won by a six-point advantage last Sunday in Shanghai, but they led as many as 28 here. The Rockets have won four in a row in their preseason games.
James Harden, positioned as the starting point guard by head coach Mike D'Antoni, continued his performance as a playmaker in the offensive end, dishing out eight assists with 14 points. He enjoyed his new role pretty much in Shanghai with a game-high 26 points and 15 assists.
"I feel very comfortable (as the point guard). My role as the leader does not change, and I just try to make the right play," commented Harden.
"In the first half, we were very focused on what we lacked in previous games. Every game is an opportunity for the team to get better," he added.
K.J. McDaniels had four points for the Rockets after the tip-off, before Pelicans' center Omer Asik helped his team build a 12-11 lead, their last throughout the game.
However, Anthony Davis scared the Pelicans as he suffered an ankle injury when attacking the basket and limped off for a timeout. Davis played less than seven minutes, just nailing two points.
"We got a bad start, and never recovered from it. That was disappointing. We were very aggresive offensively, but we had too many defensive breakdowns.
"I don't know any technical term. I just know it's an ankle sprain, but I don't know what grade it is," said Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry.
Then Rockets took on a dominant 17-0 run to pull away the game, capped by Sam Dekker's fast break layup. Pelicans' substitute Alexis Ajinca ended his team's drought in more than four minutes with a jumper, before Rockets' veteran point guard Pablo Prigioni set the first quarter at 31-14 with a buzzer-beating three pointer.
In front of legend stars Yao Ming, Dikembe Mutombo and Gary Payton, Rockets extended its lead to 25 points into the halftime, and met little resistence until the final minute.
Bobby Brown, who spent several seasons in the Chinese basketball league, led Rockets players with 18 points. Pelicans' Quinn Cook finished with a game-high 20 points. Enditem
