After blowing a 25-point lead in Thursday’s second half, Houston is now 3-4 in December, and its defense is rated No. 16 in the NBA for the month.

BOTTOM LINE: Houston hits the road against New Orleans looking to stop its three-game road losing streak. The Pelicans are 1-6 against the rest of their division. New Orleans averages 13.4 turnovers per game and is 4-12 when it turns the ball over less than its opponents.

Ime Udoka was caught in a heated sideline exchange with Pelicans rookie Derik Queen as the Rockets blew a 25-point lead in overtime loss.

Despite adding Kevin Durant in a big offseason trade, the Houston Rockets have struggled to win nail-biting games.

Houston's second-half defense was an eye sore against one of the league's worst teams, and Udoka wasted no time criticizing it.

In that third quarter, we didn’t play with enough energy or a sense of urgency,” Rockets star Kevin Durant said. “We weren’t playing together.”

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 defeat the Houston Rockets 133-128 in overtime