Rockets Rally Falls Short in 105-98 Loss to Warriors
Lacking Focus. (Almost) Saved by the Bench. Break Time.
Houston’s last game before the All-Star break featured another comeback gone wry, as the Rockets fell short to the Warriors, 105-98, on Thursday night. Golden State led by as many as 24 points in this contest, but after Houston’s Head Coach Ime Udoka subbed out his entire starting lineup, the reserves made a valiant comeback attempt, getting within two points. And that’s as close as the Rockets would get, as Stephen Curry scored 27 points to lead the Warriors, with Brandin Podziemski chipping in 18 points, including some big shots that prevented Houston’s rally from becoming a success.
It seemed as if most of the Rockets had their mind on vacation, as the starters came out with no energy. Aaron Holiday led Houston in scoring with 25 points, and Jock Landale quietly had another solid performance off the bench. Landale scored 13 points and grabbed 8 rebounds in a sparse 16 minutes of action. Nate Williams, who rarely ever sees court action, added a season-high 11 points in 18 minutes of playing time, and Jeff Green scored 10 points, but ultimately, the Rockets came up short.
With this latest defeat, Houston has now lost seven of their last ten games as they enter the All-Star break. The Rockets still hold the fourth seed in the Western Conference, but the squad will need to spring out of the break with some revitalized energy in order to get back on the winning track. For now, the squad will get a much-needed seven days off before their next game.
Alperen Sengun, Amen Thompson, and Reed Sheppard will all be heading to San Francisco to participate in the NBA All-Star Weekend. Sengun will be playing for Team Chuck in the All-Star Game on Sunday evening. Thompson and Sheppard will be participating in the Rising Stars Game on Friday night.
In general, the Rockets need to rest up and get healthy. Fred VanVleet has been out with an injury, and hopefully he’ll be close to returning after the break. Tari Eason and Steven Adams could certainly use the time off to rest their respective injury management issues. It’s rumored Jabari Smith Jr. will be making his long-awaited return in Houston’s next game, which will be Friday, February 21st, at home against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Hopefully after the break, the Rockets will be ready to come back to the court stronger than ever, as only 27 games remain in the regular season.