Houston Loses Lead Late, Mavs Devastate Rockets, 107-104
Speechless. I’ll try and write something that is comprehensible but I’m still in a bit of a shock from Saturday’s night’s absolute collapse of a game from Houston’s point of view. In a game that was hard-fought, with ties and lead changes for much of the night, the Rockets found themselves up 102-94, with a little over 3 minutes and change left on the clock. Houston even had the ball with a plethora of chances to extend that lead before they decided to collapse. Give Dallas credit. Their rookie phenom, Luka Doncic, went nuts in the final 3 minutes and sparked his own 11-0 to propel the Mavs comeback victory over the Rockets. Doncic proved why he’s the best rookie in the NBA this season. Houston proved they haven’t really solved any of their lingering problems. In those final three minutes, Chris Paul missed two consecutive free throws, in the clutch, something that happens maybe once in a 1,000 times. Luka Doncic hit tough shot after shot to quickly turn an 8-point Rockets lead into a Mavs lead they would never relinquish. Houston just couldn’t match up with the rookie. James Harden had 35 to lead the Rockets, but they just couldn’t match up with a more-balanced Dallas team when it mattered most. The MVP seemed to wear down by the end of the game and Paul was certainly gassed, with the biggest two missed free throws of his entire career coming at the worst possible time for Houston. The Rockets didn’t play a bad game. They fought hard for 45 minutes, but an NBA game in regulation is 48 minutes. When crunch time came, the Rockets were out of fuel. They were out-played by Dallas’ rookie sensation, and the rest of the Mavs in the final 3 minutes of the game. Houston was so close to getting back within one game of .500 (a win would have put them at 12-13, the loss knocked them to 11-14). They now remain 3 games below .500 for the third different time as the roller coaster continues. Hopefully, the ride will start going up soon. Time is running out on the Rockets and their season. If they want to have any chance at making the playoffs they need to start showing some of the resolve Dallas put on display to knock them in the mouth. They say “you learn something new every day”, hopefully the Rockets learned a lesson that will turn their season around after last night’s collapse. Otherwise, these outcomes will come as more of an expectation than a shock to the Rockets and their fans, as we are closing in on a third of the way through the season. Up next, the Rockets return home to take on the Portland Trailblazers, another tough Western foe, on Tuesday night. Maybe the Rockets learned something from last night’s collapse. Maybe they didn’t, and just took it as another loss, in a continually disappointing season. One in which time is slowly running out on the “we can still turn things around” train. The squad is still confident they can turn things around, but actions speak louder than words. We’ll see on Tuesday night if the Rockets can finally get their act together.