Rockets Begin Homestand with Victory Over Mavs, 128-121
Hanging On. Black Magic. Learning Experience.
Houston held on to beat the Mavs Friday night, 128-121, as the Rockets returned to Toyota Center with a victory. James Harden scored 35 points, and seemed, to slip out of his funk. Although in my opinion, he still doesn’t look right, and against a Luka-less Mavs team, the Beard should have been better. Russell Westbrook had 32, and the Rockets led by as many as 18 points, before letting the lead shrink, and making things interesting in the final quarter. Luckily, Houston had enough to hang on this time, and not embarrass themselves with another disappointing loss.
The Rockets need to stop playing with their own brand of Black Magic. They had an 18-point lead on Friday night. Houston should have won by at least 20. But the let a deflated-Dallas team all the way back in the game, which isn’t a good sign for the Rockets’ mental health in the long run. Hopefully, the squad learns from this experience. Although, as the season’s showed, Houston has been prone to this kind behavior all season long.
Up next for the Rockets, they’ll host the league’s next big thing: Zion Williamson, as the Pelicans come to town. Houston will need to play better than did on Friday to beat a sneaky New Orleans team that is slowly creeping up the standings since Zion began playing a few weeks ago. If the Rockets get a big lead, they’ll need to hold on to the double-figure advantage. A close game against New Orleans means bad news, and potentially bad learning experience for the Rockets. We’ll see if they’ve learned to quit their nasty habit, or if it continues… on Sunday afternoon.