Back to reality
Defense falls apart in first game after skid snapped
The streak is gone. March sadness is back. The Rockets, after a win Monday to end the longest losing streak in franchise history, made that one-game breakthrough look like a mirage, collapsing under the weight of a Hornets second-half run to add to the season’s misery with a 122-97 blowout loss.
On the eve of the trade deadline, with potential to shake up a team in the race for the league’s worst record, the Rockets were run off the floor in the second half as the Hornets took their lead to as much as 33.
This loss was different than many in the losing streak and came with an added twist of John Wall coming out of the game early in the second half when the Hornets were surging with Rockets coach Stephen Silas seeming to have plenty to say to him during the time out.
Wall returned and played deep into the game, sitting with 20 points and seven assists with six and a half minutes left when Silas began clearing his bench early. But the frustration he and the Rockets as whole felt had rarely been more apparent, even in the 20-game losing streak with plenty of sizable blowouts.
This time, rather than the Rockets’ familiar offensive woes, the defense collapsed in the second half. Eventually, the offense would break down, too. But its issues were nothing compared to the defensive shortcoming in the second half.
Much of that was a credit to the Hornets’ remarkable sharpshooting, especially from guard Devonte’ Graham and Terry Rozier in the third quarter. But the Rockets put up little resistance in the quarter, turning a tight game into a romp.
Rozier led the Hornets, playing without sensational rookie LaMe
lo Ball, with 25 points on 9 of 14 shooting. Graham had 21, making 7 of 10 shots. Between them, they made 10 of 17 3-pointers.
The Hornets took a three-point halftime lead with three free throws to close the first half and then outscored the Rockets 35-15 in the third quarter, when they made 14 of 18 shots, including 6 of 10 3-pointers.
The Hornets could not quite keep up that pace, but it was not because the Rockets shut down much of anything.
The collapse, however, came after the Rockets had a solid half but seemed to grow frustrated when they could not make shots to solve the Charlotte zone and grew frustrated when they saw a return to the blowouts.
The Rockets made 45.2 percent of their shots in the first half and then went 1 of 8 to start the second half while the Hornets made 7 of 8 attempts to pull away.
The Rockets made 5 of 24 3-pointers in the second half before knocking down three straight late in the game with the benches long-since emptied. The Hornets so shut down the paint, the Rockets scored just 14 points inside after the first quarter. But if any team knew of the Rockets’ offensive shortcomings, it would be the Hornets.
Much of the roster has changed since they last met. The Rockets were playing P.J. Tucker, DeMarcus Cousins, Mason Jones, David Nwaba and Rodions Kurucs that night. All are either gone or injured. But the Rockets managed seven fourth quarter points in Charlotte. The Hornets understandably would seek to find out if much had changed.
After the Rockets got off to a fast start, making their first five shots and 7 of 9 on the way to a quick 10point lead, the Hornets backed up to protect the paint, often with a zone, daring the Rockets to beat them with 3-pointers.
The Rockets’ 3-point shooting had improved markedly in recent games as they made 34.9 percent in their three prior games, including the 38.9 percent they hit in the streak-buster. Still, the Hornets would see if the Rockets could outshoot them.
For much of the first half, after the early lead was replaced by a ninepoint deficit, the Rockets struggled to keep pace. But late in the half, Wall and House each put in a pair of 3s, bringing the rockets back into a tie.
House fouled Rozier on a 3-pointer as the Hornets took a 58-55 edge into the second half. But the Rockets were getting good shots, making their share, and most of all, bore little resemblance to the team the Hornets smashed in Charlotte, N.C.
Then it all changed, with the Rockets hit and folding in a reminder of how their season had gone so wrong.