Bey has season-high 29 points to lead Pelicans' 25-point comeback in a 133-128 OT win over Houston

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — 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 beat the Houston Rockets 133-128 in overtime on Thursday night.

Trey Murphy scored 27 points and Herb Jones had 18 points and a career-high eight steals before fouling out for the Pelicans, who've won three straight after winning just three of their first 25 games.

The 25-point comeback tied a franchise high and was the largest second-half comeback in franchise history, which dates back to the 2002-03 season.

Jordan Poole scored 15 points, capped by two free throws with 12 seconds left in overtime that put the Pelicans up 131-128. Houston's Reed Sheppard missed two shots from 3-point range in the final seconds before Bey got the rebound and hit game-sealing free throws with 2 seconds left in the extra period as a jubilant crowd that had been on its feet since the final minutes of regulation celebrated the unlikely comeback.

Kevin Durant scored 32 points and Alperen Sengun had 28 for Houston, but Sengun was unable to get off a shot for the win after dribbling into the paint in the final seconds of regulation.

Sengun missed two free throws with 43 seconds left in the fourth quarter, allowing New Orleans to complete the second-half comeback and tie it at 117 on Bey's driving finger roll with 31 seconds to play.

Rookie Derik Queen had 16 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks, and his 18-foot jumper sparked an 11-0 run early in the fourth quarter. The surge ended with Bey's dunk and pulled the Pelicans to 101-96.

Durant helped Houston dominate early by scoring 13 points in the first quarter, hitting his first five shots, including three 3s.

The Pelicans, by contrast, missed 20 of 29 shots in the paint during the first half.

Durant had 18 points by halftime, when Houston led 67-45.

New Orleans methodically trimmed its deficit to 13 in the third quarter before entering the fourth quarter trailing 99-83.

Rockets: At the Denver Nuggets on Saturday.

Pelicans: Host the Indiana Pacers on Saturday.

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

New Orleans Pelicans guard Saddiq Bey, right, reacts after dunking against the Houston Rockets during the second half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

New Orleans Pelicans guard Saddiq Bey (41) dunks against Houston Rockets guard Aaron Holiday (0) near Pelicans center Derik Queen (22) during the second half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

New Orleans Pelicans guards Jose Alvarado, top, and Saddiq Bey, bottom, celebrate as they take the lead in the final seconds of overtime against the Houston Rockets during an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun (28) and New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson, center right, battle for the ball during the first half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

New Orleans Pelicans forward Trey Murphy III, center, shoots against Houston Rockets center Steven Adams (12) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant, lrft, shoots against New Orleans Pelicans forward Trey Murphy III, top right, during the first half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant (7) shoots a 3-point basket against New Orleans Pelicans forward Trey Murphy III (25) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

Houston Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr. (10) shoots against New Orleans Pelicans guard Saddiq Bey (41) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Angry protesters stormed the offices of Bangladesh’s two leading newspapers late Thursday after the death of a prominent activist in last year’s political uprising in Bangladesh. The crowds set fire to the buildings of the dailies, trapping journalists and other staff inside.

Hours later, the journalists and other staff were evacuated, and the fires were brought under control early Friday.

It was not clear why the protesters attacked the newspapers whose editors are known to be closely connected with the country’s interim leader, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus. Protests were organized in recent months outside the offices of the dailies by Islamists who blamed the newspapers for their alleged link with India.

Sharif Osman Hadi, a spokesperson for the Inqilab Moncho culture group, died in hospital in Singapore early Thursday evening after a weeklong battle for his life.

He was shot on the streets of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, last Friday while riding on a rickshaw. Two men on a motorbike followed Hadi and one shot him before they fled the scene. After days of treatment in Dhaka, Hadi was flown to Singapore in critical condition.

Authorities have said they identified the suspects and that the shooter had most probably fled to India — remarks that sparked a new diplomatic squabble with India and prompted New Delhi this week to summon Bangladesh's envoy to express its condemnation. Bangladesh also summoned the Indian envoy to Dhaka and sought clarification.

Hadi was a fierce critic of both neighboring India and former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, whose 15-year rule of Bangladesh ended in last year's uprising.

The Inqilab Moncho group, formed after the ouster of Hasina last year, has been organizing street protests and campaigns denouncing Hasina and India. The country's Islamists and other Hasina opponents have blamed her government for being subservient to India during her rule.

Hadi had planned to run as an independent candidate in a major constituency in Dhaka in the next national elections which the country's interim government has announced for February.

Since Hasina's ouster, the Inqilab Moncho group has promoted anti-Indian sentiment in the Muslim-majority country. Hasina now lives in self-imposed exile in India.

Witnesses and media reports said hundreds of protesters took to the streets of Dhaka immediately after the news of Hadi's death, rallying on Shahbagh Square near the Dhaka University campus where many chanted slogans such as Allahu Akbar, or God is great in Arabic. There were also similar protests elsewhere in the country.

Later, a group of protesters gathered outside the head office of the country’s leading Bengali-language Prothom Alo daily in Dhaka’s Karwan Bazar area. They then surged into the building, vandalized it and set fire to it, according to online portals of various leading media outlets.

A few hundred yards away, another group of protesters pushed into the premises of the country’s leading English-language Daily Star and set fire to the building, according to footage from Kaler Kantha, another mainstream newspaper.

Soldiers and paramilitary border guards deployed outside the two buildings but did not take any action to disperse the protesters. Security officials tried to convince them to leave peacefully as firefighters arrived at the scene outside the Daily Star building.

The blaze trapped the newspaper's staff working inside the building late Thursday. One of the Daily Star's journalists, Zyma Islam, wrote on Facebook that she was inside the building.

“I can't breathe anymore. There's too much smoke," she said.

By early Friday, the fire was brought under control.

Both dailies stopped updating their online editions after the attacks and they did not publish broadsheets on Friday.

The protesters Thursday night also targeted Chhayanaut, a leading cultural institution widely respected by liberals, in Dhaka’s Dhanmondi neighborhood.

Dozens of protesters were still at Shahbagh Friday morning and vowed to continue the protests.

Hadi's body would be brought to Dhaka from Singapore on Friday evening, authorities said.

The attack on Hadi is still being investigated, but the shooting has set off tensions. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have recently expressed concerns over violations of human rights in Bangladesh.

Yunus, who took over three days after Hasina’s ouster in August 2024, promised in a televised address to the nation late Thursday to punish Hadi's killers.

He announced that Saturday would be a day of mourning and urged the citizens to stay calm.

Yunus' critics and Hasina's former Awami League party have blamed the interim government for the rise of Islamists in Bangladesh, a parliamentary democracy with a history of political violence.

The interim government has banned all activities by Hasina's party, including its running in the February election. Last month, a Bangladesh court sentenced Hasina to death on charges of crimes against humanity involving the uprising.

On Wednesday, anti-India protesters attempted to march toward the Indian High Commission in Dhaka, prompting it to close its visa section. After Hasina's ouster India stopped issuing tourist visas to Bangladeshis, citing security concerns, but continued giving visas for medical treatment in India.

On Thursday, protesters in the southwestern city of Rajshahi tried to march toward the office of a regional Indian diplomat. Police stopped both marches.

A protester reacts to the camera near the premises of the Prothom Alo daily newspaper which was set on fire by angry protesters after news reached the country from Singapore of the death of a prominent activist Sharif Osman Hadi, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)

Bangladesh army stands guard at the premises of the Prothom Alo daily newspaper after angry protesters set it on fire after news reached the country from Singapore of the death of a prominent activist Sharif Osman Hadi, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)

A fire engine arrives at the premises of The Daily Star newspaper after angry protesters set it on fire after news reached the country from Singapore of the death of a prominent activist Sharif Osman Hadi, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)

A girl rescues books from a shop near the premises of the Prothom Alo daily newspaper which was set on fire by angry protesters after news reached the country from Singapore of the death of a prominent activist Sharif Osman Hadi, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)

Protesters shout slogans in front of the premises of the Prothom Alo daily newspaper after news reached the country from Singapore of the death of a prominent activist Sharif Osman Hadi, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)