Rockets take over after halftime in a 109-97 road victory over Pelicans

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Amen Thompson had 21 points and 11 rebounds and the Houston Rockets had a dominating second half to beat the New Orleans Pelicans 109-97 on Thursday night to open a home-and-home set.

Alperen Sengun added 22 points, eight assists and three steals, and Tari Eason scored 21 points as the Rockets snapped a three-game losing streak. They had lost their last eight road games.

Trey Murphy III scored 26 points to lead the Pelicans. Zion Williamson had 20 points and 10 rebounds.

Thompson had 12 points in the second half, including a dunk to cap the Rockets' opening spurt right out of the break that put them ahead for the first time — and for the rest of the game. They later had a 12-0 run in the third quarter.

When Houston trailed by double figures in the first quarter, Thompson had a highlight two-handed slam. He went around rookie Yves Missi and made a double-clutch move to get the dunk.

Rockets: Houston, currently the fifth seed in the Western Conference, is 11-3 against division foes this season.

Pelicans: Williamson was only 5-of-15 shooting from the field, but did hit 10 of 12 free throws.

The Rockets never led until a 9-1 run in the first two minutes of the second half, a quick spurt that Thompson capped with a dunk. They led the rest of the way, going ahead by as many as 17 points.

Thompson had eight dunks.

The Rockets and Pelicans play again Saturday night, this time in Houston.

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

New Orleans Pelicans guard Trey Murphy III (25) shoots against Houston Rockets forward Dillon Brooks (9) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Thursday, March 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

New Orleans Pelicans guards Trey Murphy III (25) and Jose Alvarado (15) celebrate during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Houston Rockets in New Orleans, Thursday, March 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun (28) steals the ball from New Orleans Pelicans guard Trey Murphy III (25) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Thursday, March 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

Houston Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr., front left, and New Orleans Pelicans forward Kelly Olynyk, right, become entangled during the first half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Thursday, March 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (1) grabs a rebound next to Houston Rockets forward Tari Eason (17) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Thursday, March 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

New Orleans Pelicans guard Trey Murphy III (25) celebrates after a 3-point basket against the Houston Rockets during the first half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Thursday, March 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (1) gets fouled with attempting a dunk against Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun (28) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Thursday, March 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

Houston Rockets guard Reed Sheppard (15) shoots against the New Orleans Pelicans during the first half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Thursday, March 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

Houston Rockets forward Amen Thompson (1) dunks against the New Orleans Pelicans during the first half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Thursday, March 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

Houston Rockets forward Amen Thompson (1) gets around New Orleans Pelicans center Yves Missi (21) for a basket during the first half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Thursday, March 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Leo XIV celebrated his first Easter Mass as pontiff with a call Sunday to lay down arms and seek peace to global conflicts through dialogue, but he departed from a tradition of listing the world's woes by name in the Urbi et Orbi blessing from the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica.

Leo, the first U.S.-born pope, emphasized Easter’s message of hope as a celebration of Jesus’ resurrection after being crucified, in both the blessing and his homily.

“Let us allow our hearts to be transformed by his immense love for us! Let those who have weapons lay them down! Let those who have the power to unleash wars choose peace! Not a peace imposed by force, but through dialogue! Not with the desire to dominate others, but to encounter them!” the pope implored.

With the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran in its second month and Russia’s ongoing campaign in Ukraine, Leo acknowledged a sense of indifference “to the deaths of thousands of people ... to the repercussions of hatred and division that conflicts sow … to the economic and social consequences they produce.’’

Without mentioning the wars by name, Leo quoted his predecessor, Pope Francis, who during his last public appearance from the same loggia last Easter reminded the faithful of the “great thirst for death, for killing, we witness each day.’’

Francis, weakened by a long illness, died the next day on Easter Monday.

The Urbi et Orbi blessing, Latin for “to the city and the world,’’ has traditionally included a litany of the world’s woes. Leo followed that formula during his Christmas blessing. There was no immediate explanation for the shift.

Earlier, Leo addressed some 50,000 faithful from an open-air altar in St. Peter’s Square flanked with white roses, while the steps leading down to the piazza where the faithful gathered were filled with spring perennials, symbolically resonating with the pope’s words.

He implored the faithful to keep their hope in the face of death, which lurks "in the abuses that crush the weakest among us, because the idolatry of profit that plunders the earth’s resources, because of the violence of war that kills and destroys.’’

Speaking from the loggia, the pope announced a prayer vigil for peace April 11 in the Basilica.

“On this day of celebration, let us abandon every desire for conflict, domination, and power, and implore the Lord to grant his peace to a world ravaged by wars and marked by a hatred and indifference that makes us feel powerless in the face of evil,’’ he said.

Leo greeted the global faithful in 10 languages, including Arabic, Chinese and Latin, reviving a practice that his predecessor Pope Francis had let lapse.

Before retreating into the basilica, Leo stepped forward out of the loggia’s shadow and waved to the cheering crowd below.

During the marathon that is Holy Week, Leo also reclaimed the tradition of washing priests’ feet on Holy Thursday, a gesture of encouragement toward clergy, after Francis had chosen a more inclusive path, traveling to prisons and homes for the disabled to wash the feet of women, non-Christians and prisoners.

The 70-year-old pontiff also became the first pope in decades to carry the light wooden cross for the entire 14 stations during the Way of the Cross on Good Friday.

Traditional ceremonies at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, revered by Christians as the traditional site of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, were scaled back under an agreement with Israeli police. Authorities have put limits on the sizes of public gatherings due to ongoing missile attacks.

The restrictions also dampened the recent Muslim holy month of Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr holiday, as well as the current weeklong Jewish festival of Passover. On Sunday, the Jewish priestly blessing at the Western Wall — normally attended by tens of thousands — was limited to just 50 people.

The restrictions have strained relations between Israeli authorities and Christian leaders. Police last week prevented two of the church’s top religious leaders, including Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa, from celebrating Palm Sunday at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

On Tuesday, the pope had expressed hope that the war could be finished before Easter.

Barry reported from Milan. Associated Press writer Josef Federman in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

Pope Leo XIV addresses the faithful after delivering the Urbi et Orbi blessing - Latin for "to the city of Rome and to the world" - from the central loggia of St. Peter's Basilica at the end of Easter Mass he presided over in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope Leo XIV delivers the Urbi et Orbi blessing - Latin for "to the city of Rome and to the world" - from the central loggia of St. Peter's Basilica at the end of Easter Mass he presided over in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope Leo XIV addresses the faithful after delivering the Urbi et Orbi blessing - Latin for "to the city of Rome and to the world" - from the central loggia of St. Peter's Basilica at the end of Easter Mass he presided over in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope Leo XIV presides over Easter Mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, April 5, 2026 (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Clergy follow Pope Leo XIV as he presides over Easter Mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope Leo XIV presides over Easter Mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, April 5, 2026 (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope Leo XIV arrives to preside over Easter Mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, April 5, 2026 (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope Leo XIV sprinkles holy water with a bunch of hyssop sprigs as he presides over Easter Mass in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)