Rockets Fend Off Pelicans, 118-108, Earn Sixth Straight Win
Mental Toughness. Garry Bird. Rough Sledding Ahead.
The rims were kind to Houston once again, as the Rockets beat the Pelicans on Sunday night, 118-108, for their sixth straight win. With the victory, the Rockets became the first team in NBA, NFL, MLB, or NHL history to win 6 straight games after losing 15 in a row. Once again, Houston took advantage of a beatable opponent, in New Orleans, and basically led for the duration of the contest. Christian Wood scored 23 points and grabbed 13 boards to lead the way for the Rockets, who are still awaiting the return of Kevin Porter Jr. and Jalen Green from injuries. The ever-consistent Eric Gordon added 23 points as well to ensure Houston had enough scoring without two of their key playmakers. EG and Jae’Sean Tate combined to dish out half of the team’s 24 assists on the night. And the Rockets withstood a dominant performance from Brandon Ingrams, who had one of the quietest 40-point nights in NBA-history.
Garrison Matthews, also known as “Garry Bird” to some Houstonians, continues his renaissance year since being called up from the G-League. Matthews scored 13 points, grabbed 7 rebounds, and accounted for too much hustle to calculate. Lipscomb University’s GOAT is relishing in the starting role he earned. With the return of Green and KPJ, will Matthews still be a starter? It’s hard not to give the guy minutes. At the least, he should be one of the first players off the bench when the squad’s back to full strength. And Alperen Sengun, who is already one of the greatest per-minute producers the league has ever seen, once again dazzled in only 17 minutes of action. The 19-year-old rookie registered 10 points and 4 rebounds on Sunday. Once Sengun receives his opportunity, it should be fun to see what he can accomplish with starter-level minutes.
The easy part is now over for Houston. Two more home games remain on the slate before the team hits the road, but the these final two home games will be a couple of contests against two of the league’s best. First, James Harden and the Brooklyn Nets return to Houston on Wednesday. And then the defending-champion Milwaukee Bucks come to town on Friday night. The Rockets will probably still be without Jalen Green and Kevin Porter Jr. for these matchups, making the challenge even tougher.
The good news is, Houston will be playing at home. And Wednesday will mark the first time Harden’s returned to H-Town to play in front of a capacity crowd. The atmosphere should be as comparable to a playoff game as it will get for the young Rockets this season. But the fans should be rocking, always a great advantage for team’s role players when they play at home. If Houston can maintain the mental toughness they’ve shown throughout this winning streak, they have a chance to push the streak further than most could imagine. Keeping the winning streak alive isn’t impossible. One thing that is for sure… the nets won’t be as kind to the Rockets as they ride into this tough part of the schedule.