Rockets vs. Raptors Post-Game 2/9/24

Rockets Furious Rally Falls Short in 107-104 Loss to Raptors

Sleepwalking.    No Cigar.    Back At It.

Houston rallied from a 22-point deficit, but the squad once again came up short, as the Rockets fell to the Raptors, 107-104, on Friday night. The “New Raptors”, RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley combined for 46 points to torch Houston. Dillon Brooks led the Rockets with 20 points in his return to Canada. Cam Whitmore scored 17 points off the bench, however the rookie suffered a sprained ankle and didn’t return to the game. Aleperen Sengun and Jalen Green had their worst games of the season, scoring only 7 points each.

It’s becoming an embarrassing trend. Houston is not coming out ready to play. Whether it’s right after tip-off, or coming out of the halftime break, the Rockets have struggled playing out of the gate. They made a great comeback attempt in Toronto, but came up short, close with no cigar. And Coach Ime Udoka isn’t afraid to play whoever is deserving of minutes. Houston’s bench got them back in the game, and they were on the court mainly in crunch time. The team as a whole has to figure out how to play hard for four quarters, especially the starting unit.

The Rockets now head to Atlanta on Saturday night to finish this four-game road trip. Houston is currently 0-3 on this journey away from Toyota Center, now holding an embarrassing 5-19 road record. Hopefully, the Rockets can get back on track in Atlanta. They haven’t played well in the second half of back-to-backs this season, but maybe that will change against a Hawks team that mirrors this Rockets team in terms of their inconsistency. Regardless, Houston is now 23-28 on the season, and desperately trying to stay in the Play-In race out West.