Gordon’s 31 Points Lift Rockets Over Spurs, 128-124, as Houston Snaps Skid
Splash Brother. Tate’s Perfection. The Closer.
His teammates have changed, and as the only remaining player from the James Harden era, Eric Gordon is still having fun on the court, regardless of who’s playing with him. EG had arguably his best game of the season, rallying the Rockets to a 128-124 victory over the Spurs on Wednesday night. The win gives Houston a boost to start their five-game road trip. Gordon put on his own Splash-Brother impersonation, scoring 31 points on 9-of-10 shooting from the floor. EG nailed 6 of his 7 three-point attempts and was huge in the clutch. Houston led after the first quarter, but a late first-half run gave San Antonio the lead at the break. The Spurs built a 9-point edge in the third quarter, but EG, Jae’Sean Tate, and Kevin Porter Jr. led a second-half Rockets rally. Houston also spoiled Dejounte Murray’s career night. The Spurs’ star had the best game of his life, registering a triple-double with 32 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists. Murray, the league’s leader in steals per game, also had 3 takeaways, but it wasn’t enough for the San Antonio, as the Rockets managed to escape the Alamo City with a win, breaking their three-game losing streak.
Jae’Sean Tate was a perfect 6-for-6 from the floor on Wednesday for 13 points. But Houston’s energizer bunny made contributions across the board. Tate also accumulated 7 assists, 6 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 1 steal during an extremely efficient performance. Tate doesn’t always show upon the highlight reel, but Houston doesn’t win this game without him. If only the rest of the roster could play with Tate’s unrelenting energy. But, everyone’s built and wired differently… not every player has the stamina to match Tate’s all-out hunger on every play.
His appetite came later in the contest, but Kevin Porter Jr. showed up when the Rockets needed him most. KPJ played the role of the closer, scoring 12 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter, including some impressive shots from long range, helping Houston stave off the Spurs for the win. It was a nice bounce-back performance from Scoot, who’s struggled overall since returning from injury. Jalen Green had another off-shooting night, connecting on only 4 of his 14 shots, for 14 points. Christian Wood secured another double-double with 23 points and 11 boards, as the Rockets took advantage of a Spurs team that was dealing with some health-and-safety protocol issues.
Houston is now 6-2 in games decided by 5 points or less, proving they can perform in the clutch moments. The Rockets just haven’t gotten many opportunities for clutch performances, given they’re blown out on a consistent basis. The squad will look to avoid that trend that haunted them for the first half of the season as we wind down to the final 39 games of the season. Up next, Houston takes their show to Sacramento, where they’ll battle the Kings for the next two games. Sacramento has a similar record to San Antonio. Before the road trip concludes with matches against two daunting opponents, the Rockets have a chance to garner similar results they saw in the Alamo City… and rack up two wins against the Kings.