Shooting woes plague Rockets vs. Bulls
The Houston Rockets shot poorly through much of the game, horribly the deeper as first-year coach Stephen Silas went into his bench as the Bulls rolled through the fourth quarter to a 104-91 win Sunday in Chicago.
By the time the starters and most of the regulars were finished late in the third quarter, the Rockets had made 40 percent of their shots, and just 29.4 percent of their 3s, but still held a seven-point lead.
There were some of the good signs from Friday, especially in the scoring of John Wall, who led the Rockets with 21 points and four assists in 24 minutes. DeMarcus Cousins and Gordon each had 10 points in 17 minutes. David Nwaba, in his second game back from an Achilles injury, showed flashes of his high-energy game, scoring 11 points in 16 minutes.
The Rockets made just 18 of 46 (39.1 percent) shots in the first half, just 8 of 21 with 4 of 13 3point shooting in the second quarter. That likely was to be expected. Help is presumably on the way.
The Rockets still led 56-53 at halftime with Wall scoring 14 points in 15 minutes. The Rockets got enough scoring from veterans to lead by as much as 10 and take a lead into the second half.
NETS 119, WIZARDS 114
Kevin Durant played just under 24 minutes and scored 15 points as host Brooklyn beat Washington in its preseason opener.
Kyrie Irving finished with 18 points in just over 17 minutes in his own return, having been limited to 20 games last season because of a shoulder injury.
Russell Westbrook did not play in what would have been his debut for the Wizards. Bradley Beal also rested.
Rui Hachimura scored 18 points and Raul Neto added 17 for Washington. Deni Avdija, the ninth overall pick in the 2020 draft, scored 15 points for the Wizards.
HAWKS 116, MAGIC 107
Trae Young scored 21 points and Bogdan Bogdanovic added 18 as host Atlanta got its first preseason win, beating Orlando.
Danilo Gallinari added 17 points and De’Andre Hunter added 15 for Atlanta, which made 17 3-pointers. Young and Bogdanovic each made four 3s.
Markelle Fultz scored 21 points and rookie Cole Anthony added 16 for the Magic. Aaron Gordon scored 15 points and Nikola Vucevic had 14 for Orlando.
The Magic defeated the Hawks 116-112 in Atlanta on Friday.
PISTONS 99, KNICKS 91
Detroit got off to a hot start and beat visiting New York.
Sekou Doumbouya led the Pistons with 23 points in just 17 minutes, 39 seconds on the floor. Derrick Rose and Blake Griffin added 11 and 10 points, respectively.
RJ Barrett led all scorers with 25 points, Julius Randle had 18 and Alec Burks finished with 15.
LAKERS 131, CLIPPERS 106
The Los Angeles Lakers never trailed, beating the Los Angeles Clippers at the Staples Center.
The Lakers held a modest seven-point lead at halftime and outscored the Clippers 61-43 in the second half. The Lakers also outrebounded the Clippers 5740.
Talen Horton-Tucker and Montrezl Harrell finished with double-doubles. Horton-Tucker had 33 points and 10 rebounds, while Harrell had 19 points and 11 rebounds. Kyle Kuzma recorded 25 points.
For the Clippers, Lou Williams led the way with 12 points, Kawhi Leonard finished with 11 andTerance Mann added 10.
KINGS 121, BLAZERS 106
Richaun Holmes and Kyle Guy each scored 14 points, and visiting Sacramento beat Portland.
De’Aaron Fox added 13 points for the Kings.
Harry Giles III led the Trail Blazers with 19 points and 13 rebounds, Gary Trent Jr. had 17 points and Derrick Jones Jr. chipped in 13.