Rockets Fly Past Pacers, 130-113, Win 6th Straight at Home
Home Domination. Rising Center. Complete Game.
Alperen Sengun scored 31 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, as the Houston Rockets raced past the Pacers for an easy 130-113 win on Wednesday night. The victory gives Houston their sixth straight win at home, and the Rockets will have two more coming up this weekend at Toyota Center. After losing to Golden State in overtime, the Rockets have been dominant at home, and haven’t lost a game since. Jabari Smith Jr. had another solid performance, scoring 23 points and adding 8 boards. Fred VanVleet scored 18 points and dished out 6 assists. And Tari Eason scored 11 points in addition to 9 rebounds and a ridiculous 6 steals off the bench.
With the win, Houston improves to 11-5 on the season, and currently sits alone in third place in the Western Conference standings. After a slow start, Sengun is finding his All-Star caliber form from last year. And after a fast start, Jalen Green has sadly regressed to a slightly improved version of last year’s player. The inconsistency is still the biggest reason Green isn’t an all-out star in this league. Back to this contest, the Rockets were in control for the majority of the game, and the Pacers never really threatened to win this matchup. Little-know Quenton Jackson had the best game of his NBA career, leading the Pacers in scoring with 24 points.
Many Rockets legends from the past, most notably the Championship teams from 94 and 95 were present and honored throughout the game. It was nice to see so many Rocket legends who helped secure the city’s first major professional sports championship together again. Hopefully current members of the Rockets roster will one day be considered Houston legends themselves. Only time will tell. For now, the Rockets need to continue playing great on the defensive end. Houston is 8-2 in their last 10 games, and that’s primarily because of their defense. The squad is still struggling to shoot the ball on offense.
Up next, the Rockets will host the Portland Trail Blazers for two straight games in consecutive nights. The first game will be an NBA Cup game, and the second for both teams. Houston has a decent chance to win their group if they can beat the Blazers on Friday in the first of two tilts at Toyota Center. The Rockets should really be aiming to sweep both games, and continue their climb up the West standings.