Under fire

It’s getting too hot for comfort in Los Angeles for the Rockets.

LOS ANGELES — The wildfires in the region hit especially hard for the Rockets, many of whom have Southern California ties and with the team spending six days in town.

Bobby Brown checked in with friends who had to evacuate. Trevor Ariza began the day with a call to his brother in the San Fernando Valley. News reports brought visions of scenes and updates of highway closures stunning for even Los Angeles natives.

“It’s how big it is and how fast it’s growing,” said James Harden, who is from L.A. “We have to slow this thing down. Hopefully, we get this thing put out very fast. But they closed the 405 freeway, which is the biggest highway in L.A. A lot of people are affected by it.”

The Rockets practiced at UCLA, but Wednesday’s UCLA game against Montana was canceled. Many students on campus wore masks while the Rockets and Minnesota Timberwolves held practices there.

“We have to see where it goes,” Ariza said. “It’s tough. It’s terrible. A lot of people are having to evacuate their houses. Houses are really getting hit. People are having a hard time getting to work, moving around, concerned about their families. I called my brother this morning, ‘How are you? Where are you?’ He lives in the Valley. That’s where most of the fires are, but he’s OK.”

Brown described the scenes on the news are “like something from a movie.

“We get earthquakes and brush fires, but what’s going on, it’s scary.”

Paul expected Mitchell to excel

Though many might be surprised at how quickly Jazz rookie Donovan Mitchell has excelled, Rockets guard Chris Paul said he “absolutely” expected Mitchell’s rapid success when Mitchell was at his camp and advised him to make the jump to the NBA.

Mitchell, the 13th player in the draft when Utah dealt Trey Lyles and the 24th pick to move up, has averaged 17.2 points per game, 20.2 since the start of November. The Jazz are 10-6 with Mitchell starting, 3-6 with him coming off the bench.

“He was thinking about going to school,” Paul said. “I told some of the people at CAA and Donovan, ‘You’d be crazy to go back to school.’

“What I want for him is to keep taking it one day at a time, don’t get ahead of yourself. He loves the game. He has a great work ethic. And he can play.”