Rockets Fight Their Way To First Victory of Season In Glitzy Road Opener Marred By Brawl, Costly Ejections
It certainly wasn’t pretty, but the Rockets finally got their first win of the season. But it came at a cost. They lost Chris Paul, and he will certainly be suspended at least one game, possibly up to three. He didn’t deserve the suspension, but when two of the NBA’s smartest players go at each other, someone is bound to get unlucky, and Paul was the unfortunate recipient of this bad luck. He didn’t start the fight. Rondo didn’t even start it, although his spittle was the act that sent everyone over the edge into brawl-mode. This all began after Ingram got beat by Harden to the basket and was rightfully called for a foul, the correct call. Ingram, for some reason, didn’t take kindly to the officials’ correct call and pushed Harden unnecessarily out of frustration, which led to the biggest on-court fight the NBA’s seen in some time. Chris Paul, Rajon Rondo, and Brandon Ingram were all ejected shortly after a lengthy officiating review. The Rockets managed to survive without Chris Paul and escaped The King’s home debut with a victory. Harden bounced back and was the better of the MVP hopefuls tonight as he finished with 36 points, twice as many as he had in the opener. Hopefully the brawl woke up a Rockets team that had seemed to be sleepwalking through the initial part of this season. They’re back at it tomorrow night, same place, different vibe, against the hated Clippers, who always seem to play well against Houston. Chris Paul likely won’t be available due to a suspension the NBA will probably issue tomorrow, so the Beard and the rest of the squad will have to step up and bring more to the table if the Rockets can escape Staples Center with a sweep this weekend.