Rockets Blow Past Magic, 132-90, Snap Brief Skid
Diving Deep. Return of the Mac. Calm Before the Storm.
“As long as we continue not find chemistry… we have a chance to do something special,” James Harden said after the Rockets blowout victory over the Magic, 132-90. And Houston had plenty of chances to find chemistry facing a undermanned Orlando squad. This one was never close, as the Rockets took advantage, and obliterated a Magic team that never had much of a chance from the tip. Christian Wood led Houston with 22 points, and snagged a career-high 15 boards. The Beard once again only had 15 points, on 6-of-13 shooting from the field. Harden’s been looking to get teammates involved the last few games, and dropped 13 dimes in the Rockets beatdown of the Magic. John Wall, still adjusting to Houston’s system, particularly playing alongside Harden, chipped in with 14 points. And P.J. Tucker, finally broke out of his shooting slump, knocking down 5-of-7 threes for 15 points. Tuck’s been struggling with his shot all this season. With the Lakers coming up, a scoring boost from P.J. is a good sign for the Rockets.
Ben McLemore, playing in his first game of the season, made his presence felt immediately. McLemore didn’t miss from beyond the arc, going 5-for-5, scoring 15 points in only 16 minutes of action. Houston dove deep into their bench on Friday night, with 13 Rockets seeing court-time. With all the space Harden, Wall, and Eric Gordon create with their dribble penetration, Houston will have an ample amount of open opportunities from deep every night. The Rockets just need their open shooters to knock down shots, and against the Magic, Tucker and McLemore played the role of spot-up shooter perfectly. Hopefully this carries over for Houston during their next couple of games, this easy victory was just the calm before the storm. The next tow battles feature a much tougher opponent, LeBron James and the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers.
It was nice for the Rockets to finally get a blowout-win, despite the Magic being short-handed, a win’s a win, and Houston needed one going into their upcoming two-game set against the Lakers. Now standing at 3-4, the Rockets will try and beat a Lakers team that got deeper in the offseason. An L.A. squad that many think has the best chance to win the title again this season. These next two games will give Houston a chance to test their potential, and see just how talented they are against the league’s elite team. LeBron and the Lakers are 7-3, tied for first in the West. It’s tough to beat any team twice in a row in the league, let alone the defending champs. But, it’s not impossible. Houston at least needs to win one of the next two matchups to avoid falling to a 3-6 start. A win in the first matchup… and the Rockets set themselves up for a chance to do something special.