The New Orleans Pelicans’ nightmare season continued on Thursday night.

In search of just their 18th win on the season, the Pels suffered a disappointing loss to the Houston Rockets, 109-107. New Orleans held a lead for nearly the entire first half, with guard Trey Murphy raining down threes.

Then came the 3rd quarter. Head coach Willie green summed it up about as well as anyone could. “We come out and we’re flat,” said Green. “We’re flat, we’re stagnant. You know they dominated that third quarter and it really turned the game uphill battle from there.”

There may still be hope for the future in New Orleans, as the draft lottery odds only improve with each loss. The Rockets, on the other hand, furthered their playoff push with this 12-point win. Houston currently sits at 5th place in the West, meanwhile New Orleans holds the second-to-last spot at 14th.

The Pelicans will do battle with the Rockets once more on Saturday as the season begins to wind down.