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Rockets Collapse Late in 121-118 Loss to Pacers

The Fourth Colder.    Wasted Wood.    The Green Streak.

After a spectacular third quarter, Houston looked poised to grab their 18th win of the season on Friday night. But a dreadful fourth quarter doomed the Rockets, as they the Pacers stormed back to give Houston a 121-118 defeat. The loss is Houston’s fourth in a row, as the squad finds themselves on the wrong end of another streak once again. After outscoring Indiana 39-22 in the third quarter, the Rockets held an 8-point advantage heading into the final period. A quarter which saw Houston turn cold, as the Rockets were outscored 38-23 by the Pacers, en route to another loss.

Houston wasted arguably Christian Wood’s best game of the season. The Rockets’ big man registered 32 points, 13 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, and 3 blocks in a dominant performance. Jalen Green extended his streak of games with double-digit scoring to 22 in a row. Green scored 20 points on the evening, and his consistency is really starting to ramp up. He’s scored at least 17 points in nine of his last ten games. Expect Green to have a monster sophomore season next year.

Up next the Rockets finish off their home-stand with a back-to-back on Sunday and Monday. First up, Houston hosts the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday afternoon. The  Rockets beat the Grizz earlier this season at Toyota Center. And then the Rockets will welcome the Wizards to town on Monday night. Hopefully, the squad can grab a win before this home-stand ends. Houston has all but guaranteed themselves the best chance to grab a top-3 pick in this summer’s draft. But it would be nice to see the team win at least 20 games this season. With only a dozen contests remaining, the Rockets are running out of time.

Rockets Host Pacers in Friday Night Tilt

Winnable Game.    Green Shift.    Building.

On Friday night, the Houston Rockets host the Indiana Pacers, in a very winnable game for the home squad tonight. The Rockets have lost three straight games, and hold the NBA’s worst record. Indiana is near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings, but will still pose a formidable opponent against these young Rockets.

Houston continues to shift towards the Rockets being Jalen Green’s team. Green’s led the team in scoring over the past few games, and his improvement has been impressive, to say the least. 

The Rockets continue to build towards next season, and gaining another top pick in the upcoming draft, and this season winds down.

 

Toyota Center:  Houston, Texas

 

Jersey Colors:

Indiana Pacers (23-47):  Yellow

Houston Rockets (17-52):  Navy “City Edition”

 

Tip-Off:  7 PM CT

TV:  AT&T Sportsnet SW, NBA League Pass

Rockets Burned by Suns in 129-112 Loss

Experience the Experience.    Dreadful Third.    Another Skid.

Houston’s one-point halftime deficit swooned to double-digits quickly in a third quarter that was dominated by Phoenix. The Rockets lost their swagger after the break, as the Suns cruised to a 129-112 victory in Houston. Devin Booker powered Phoenix with 36 points. Jalen Green’s 22 points led all Rocket players in scoring, but Houston didn’t have enough firepower to beat the best team in the NBA.

The Rockets are now owners of another losing streak, dropping their last three games after that win over the Lakers. Houston will look to get back on the winning track on Friday night when they host the Indiana Pacers.

Rockets Aiming for an Upset, Host the Suns

Back Home.    No Paul, No Problem.    The Spoiler Role.

Houston returns home for a four-game homestand, beginning with a matchup against the NBA’s top team, the Phoenix Suns. The Suns have held their ground, keeping a hold on first place since Chris Paul went down with an injury. The Rockets have yet to beat Phoenix this season, as they’re 0-3 against the Suns.  

With only 14 games remaining, the Rockets will try and play the role of spoiler against teams fighting to maintain or gain playoff positioning. Houston will also expect to see a strong close to the season for Jalen Green, who’s really found his groove during the second half of the campaign.

This is the first of four straight at Toyota Center. Tonight’s contest will be the toughest, along with a Sunday matinee against the Memphis Grizzlies. Hopefully a return to the friendly confines of home will get the Rockets back on the winning page tonight.

 

Toyota Center:  Houston, Texas

 

Jersey Colors:

Phoenix Suns (55-14):  White

Houston Rockets (17-51):  Red

 

Tip-Off:  7 PM CT

TV:  AT&T Sportsnet SW,  NBA League Pass

Rockets Get Hammered in New Orleans, Fall to Pelicans 130-105

Big, Bad Birds.    Doing it Again.    Good Start, Rough Finish.

The Rockets once again held a lead after the first period on Sunday night. And once again, Houston would unravel throughout the rest of the contest, as the Rockets lost to the Pelicans, 130-105, for their second consecutive double-digit loss. Jalen Green led Houston in scoring with 17 points, but the Rockets couldn’t handle the Pelicans’ big men inside.

Jonas Valanciunas scored 32 points and grabbed 10 boards to lead New Orleans, while his fellow mate in the interior, Jaxson Hayes, added 21 points and 10 boards as well.

Houston will travel back home where they will host the best team in the NBA, the Phoenix Suns. The Rockets have seemed to win when we least expect it this season. Phoenix has held on to first place with Chris Paul still out with an injury. Every team has a letdown, and Houston will try and provide that for the Suns back in H-Town on Wednesday night.

Rockets Hit the Road for Big Easy Matchup with Pelicans

Down the Birds.    Avoiding Another Streak.    15 to Go.

The Rockets head to New Orleans to face the Pelicans on Sunday night. Houston will look to down a Pels team that’s played better during the second half of the season.

After losing their last game, the Rockets look to avoid another losing streak by bouncing back with a dub tonight.

Counting tonight’s matchup, Houston has only 15 games remaining as they wind down what’s been quite the season this year.

 

Smoothie King Center:  New Orleans, Louisiana

 

Jersey Colors:

Houston Rockets (17-50):  Black

New Orleans Pelicans (27-40):  White

 

Tip-Off:  6 PM CT

TV:  AT&T Sportsnet SW,  NBA League Pass

Rockets Fall Short Against Mavs, 113-100

Dead Rivalry.    Dallas Domination.    Regress to the Mean.

After one of their best wins of the season, the Houston Rockets fell short against the Dallas Mavericks, losing 113-100 on Friday night.

The Mavericks dominated the contest. Luka Doncic scored 30 points and grabbed 14 boards to power Dallas.

Once again, Houston regressed to the mean, and failed to win consecutive games, which hasn’t happened for the Rockets this entire calendar year.

Rockets Aim to Keep the Home Momentum, Host Mavericks

Ugly Rivals.    Home, Sweet Home.    Bouncing Back.

 

Houston, winners of two of their last three games, host the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night. The Rockets will look to make it three in a row at Toyota Center tonight, as they’ve won their past two home contests. Dallas is coming off an ugly loss to the New York Knicks, and will be looking to bounce back tonight in Houston. With the Spurs also in rebuilding mode like the Rockets, the Mavs are now the ugliest Texas rivals Houston has to face. Luka Doncic has had a stellar second-half of the season, and is one of the most lethal perimeter threats in the game. The Rockets need to contain Doncic if they want to keep the winning times alive at home.

Despite being 2-1 over their last three games, Houston has struggled mightily to in 2022 to string two wins together consecutively. The Rockets will try and end that trend tonight, but they’ll have to bring better effort than they did against an old, washed Lakers squad who they beat on Wednesday. Dallas is coming in tonight hungrier than L.A., and expect them to give the Rockets a real fight tonight from the opening tip.

Can Houston finally bounce back, and win two games in a row? They have then momentum, but this young team has struggled with the hangover of emotional wins affecting their performance in the next game. The squad will look to avoid that tonight, and put the hungry Mavericks to sleep on a Friday night in Houston.

 

Toyota Center:  Houston, Texas

 

Jersey Colors:

Dallas Mavericks (40-26):  White

Houston Rockets (17-49):  Navy “City Edition”

 

Tip-Off:  7 PM CT

TV:  AT&T Sportsnet SW,  NBA League Pass

Rockets Race Past Lakers 139-130, in OT Thriller

The Rookie Game.    LeHelpless.    Home Cooking.

There’s always a different feeling in the air when LeBron James is in the building. And on Wednesday night, with one of the largest crowds of the season, Toyota Center was rocking. The Rockets fed off that energy en route to a thrilling 139-130 victory over the Lakers in overtime. Jalen Green had the best game of his young career. Green scored a career-high 32 points on an efficient 13-for-21 shooting, and was aggressive from the opening tip. Alperen Sengun also had his best outing in the NBA. Sengun played 40 minutes, and registered a dominant 21-point, 14-rebound double-double for the evening. Sengun complimented that effort with 2 blocks, 2 steals, and 2 assists for good measure. Josh Christopher had an excellent performance as well to round out Houston’s impressive rookie trio. Christopher scored 21 points, as the Rockets became  only the second team in NBA history to have 3 players aged 20 years or younger score at least 20 points in a game. Houston’s top 3 rookies combined for an impressive 74 points, more than half the team’s total scoring output.

It wasn’t just the rooks who showed up for the Rockets. The squad had 7 players score in double-figures, with 6 guys getting at least 15 points. K.J. Martin had another solid performance, scoring 17 points and grabbing an impressive 11 rebounds. K-Mart has quietly been consistently one of Houston’s best players since the All-Star break. Eric Gordon added 15 points, the highlight of which was a fake on LeBron James that sent the King in a circle searching for his crown, preceding an EG bucket from distance.

Only the winless Portland Trail Blazers have a worse record than the Los Angeles Lakers since the All-Star break. Despite getting 30 points from Russell Westbrook, LeBron James simply doesn’t have the requisite help needed in L.A. to get the job done and string wins together. You can’t blame Houston’s victory over the Lakers on LeBron. At age 37, James played 45 minutes, securing another triple-double in his storied career with 23 points, 14 rebounds, and 12 assists. But it wasn’t enough. He passed up the potential game-winning layup at the end of regulation to an open Carmelo Anthony, who missed the shot. The rest was history, as the Rockets scored the first 13 points of overtime, sealing their second straight win at home. In the postgame interview, Green said Houston’s goal was to target Melo on defense and it worked. Green and the Rockets went at the future Hall-of-Famer, and were successful in the extra period.

Up next, Houston hosts their in-state rivals, the Dallas Mavericks, on Friday night. The Rockets have now won two straight games at Toyota Center, and haven’t lost in regulation at home in the past three times (that OT-loss to Utah still stings). Houston will look to keep the home momentum going as they’ll face a better Mavericks team than the Lakers squad they beat on Wednesday. But if the Rockets can keep that positive energy in the air at Toyota Center… they have a good chance to pull the upset on Friday night.

Rockets Host Lakers Back at Toyota Center

Helpless King.    Pile it On.    Home Momentum.

The Rockets host LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night. The Lake Show has had its fair share of problems all season. Injuries, chemistry, old players withering away…you name it, L.A.’s experienced it during this season of misery in Southern California. Houston will look to add to that misery by dealing the Lakers another loss tonight.

L.A. is in danger of missing the play-in game and playoffs entirely. Los Angeles currently sits in 9th place in the West. They’ve been carried, literally, by LeBron James all season. LBJ’s had one of the finest season’s of his storied career. Even at age 37, James is still the league’s most ferocious force in transition, and  the still the best player in the game when he’s 100% dialed in.

Houston is coming off a win in their last home game, an impressive victory over the upstart Memphis Grizzlies. And the home game before that, Houston lost a heartbreaker in overtime. So, the squad hasn’t lost in regulation at home in its last couple games. The Rockets will try and extend that streak to three tonight with a win over the Lakers.

 

Toyota Center:  Houston, Texas

 

Jersey Colors:

Los Angeles Lakers (28-36):  Yellow

Houston Rockets (16-49):  Red

 

Tip-Off:  7 PM CT

TV:  AT&T Sportsnet SW,  NBA League Pass