House OK after hurting ankle
NEW ORLEANS — The Rockets received a scare when forward Danuel House Jr. turned his left ankle late in Saturday’s game but were hopeful on Sunday that House would not miss time.
House, who has become a key contributor to the Rockets’ starting lineup and frontcourt rotation, was not limping after the game on Saturday or Sunday and said he was OK. The Rockets did not practice in Chicago on Sunday before flying to New Orleans, so he will not have more of a test of his ankle until Monday before the Rockets face the Pelicans.
Averaging 12.9 points per game, House is fifth in the NBA in catch-and-shoot 3s, hitting 23 (2.6 per game) on 46 percent shooting. He is making 47.2 percent of his shots overall. He also has the top rating among the Rockets regulars defensively.
“The energy,” Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said of House’s effort on Saturday after he had a careerhigh six steals against the Bulls. “The more he plays, the more he’ll learn the game. He’s valuable. And he’s making 3s. He’s good. He had a couple turnovers that he forced some things. He’ll get rid of that. Overall, he’s been great.”
Harden scoring spree rolls on
With his 42 points in Chicago on Saturday, Rockets guard James Harden moved past former Bulls star Scottie Pippen for 58th on the all-time scoring list. Despite the coincidence of the timing, he said he was not terribly interested in the individual milestones.
“Pretty cool, but we have bigger goals than that,” Harden said. “Obviously, when it’s all said and done, when I’m finished playing, that’s when it is the time to look back. Right now, I have to continue to keep going. There’s so many things, obviously, individually, I have to accomplish, and as a team. That’s more my focus.”
Harden has scored 334 points in 318 minutes to start the season. Only Wilt Chamberlain, Rick Barry and Michael Jordan have ever scored more in the first nine games of a season. His 137 free throws attempted are the most through nine games to start a season since Chamberlain in 1969-70. With 42 points on Saturday, Harden has averaged 40.9 points per game in his past seven games after averaging 24 in the first two games of the season.
“We keep saying it. I feel like a broken record sometimes,” Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said. “He just has a mastery of getting 40 points, 50 points, 60 points. I think sometimes he might get a little bored in the game and try stuff. He’s just playing great.”