Wood Leads Rockets to First Road Win, 109-105, Over Spurs in First Game Without Harden
An Era Has Begun. What Can Brown Do For You? Do It Again.
With immense changes to the franchise’s future, the Rockets finally played their first game without James Harden, and it went better for the squad than many predicted. Houston came out energized, and freed, as if the constraints of Harden’s presence really was holding the team back from achieving its potential. Without nearly three starters (John Wall, Victor Oladipo, and Eric Gordon), the Rockets held on to beat the Spurs in a tight match, 109-105, Thursday night in San Antonio. Wood showed that’s Harden’s departure won’t effect his own efficiency. The Rockets big man led the way for Houston, scoring 27 points, grabbing 15, and blocking 3 shots.
With Houston being very undermanned, Sterling Brown played a career-high 37 minutes, and didn’t disappoint. Brown scored a season high 23 points, and shot over 50% from the field. Sterling has been stellar in any minutes he’s seen this season. Look for his minutes to increase after Thursday’s performance.
Without any true facilitators on the floor, Jae’Sean Tate stepped into the role with ease, dishing out 10 assists to lead Houston, and chipping in 13 points to go with his usual energy. P.J. Tucker had 10 points and 6 boards in the first game he’s played without Harden on the roster in Houston. He gave coach Stephen Silas an emphatic chest-bump after the impressive road-win. After all this team has been through with Harden’s drama to start the season, the squad looks like they’re playing with the weight of the world off their shoulders. They’re finally free.
We’ll see if the Rockets can carry this over to another game, against the same team, in the same building. Houston and San Antonio will do battle again on Saturday in the Alamo City. It’s unknown at this time if Wall, Oladipo, or Gordon will be back, but Thursday’s showing was certainly a promising sign for the future if this Rockets franchise.