Rockets Lay an Egg in Ugly 110-98 Loss to Nets
Home Sleeping. Insult to Injury. Shamstunner.
Houston returned home to sleep in their beds, and didn’t seem to shake the sleepiness, as the Rockets lost to the lowly Nets, 110-98 on Saturday night. It’s one of Houston’s most disappointing losses of the entire season. The Rockets simply weren’t ready to play tonight. Brooklyn outplayed Houston from the opening tip. In a winning effort, Zaire Williams scored 21 points to lead the Nets, and D’Angelo Russell scored 18 points to help Brooklyn maintain a lead throughout the contest.
To add insult to injury, Fred VanVleet suffered a right ankle injury late in the first half, and didn’t return to the game. His absence wasn’t the reason the Rockets lost, they hadn’t played well then entire game. Although Houston’s deficit was only 5 points when FVV exited the contest. After that, the Nets ballooned the lead and the Rockets never threatened to make the game interesting. In a stat-padding performance, Jalen Green scored 29 points to lead Houston.
The Rockets are now 0-2 this season without their All-Star center Alperen Sengun. Houston begins another four-game road trip on Monday night, starting with a matchup in the Big Apple against the Knicks. Hopefully Sengun can return soon, as his injury isn’t expected to be serious.
Roughly an hour and a half after this game ended, news broke that shocked the NBA, and sports world. NBA Senior Insider Shams Charania dropped a Shams-stunner of a tweet, when he reported the Mavericks were trading Luka Doncic to the Lakers for Anthony Davis. Jimmy Butler’s displeasure in Miami with the Heat has dominated NBA trade talks for weeks. No one saw this Luka/AD trade coming. It’s the biggest and most shocking deal in NBA history. It’s also the first time in league history two All-NBA players were traded midseason. How does the deal impact the Rockets? Well, basically, the Mavericks won’t be as good in the future, and the Lakers will be a potential threat this season.
For now, Houston needs to shake off this tough loss at home, and prepare for another four game road trip. Contrary to last season, the Rockets have played better on the road than they have at home this campaign. Expect the squad to get back on track starting with a double-dose of New York City, as Houston will play the Knicks on Monday, and then these same Nets on Tuesday night.