Green and Co. cruise past OKC
If you happened to be in search of a nonscientific explanation for the heavy rain that soaked Houston from late Friday evening into Saturday morning, it could have been the NBA’s fountain of youth overflowing as the league’s two youngest teams prepared to meet at Toyota Center.
The Rockets roster’s average age of 23.7 is younger than every other team except the Thunder, whose roster has an average age of 22.9 and whose starting lineup has 24-year-old Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as its oldest player.
The Rockets and the Thunder had both ended three-game losing streaks Friday night — the Rockets by mounting a comeback win against the Hawks and the Thunder by beating the Bulls in overtime.
For the opening 10 minutes Saturday, the game looked exactly as it was: Two inexperienced teams playing the second half of a back-to-back. Then, the Rockets broke through in the second quarter and never looked back.
The Rockets cruised to a 118-105 win against the Thunder after stretching their lead to as many as 27 points. The 13-point blowout was Houston’s largest margin of victory this season and marked the first time the Rockets had strung together consecutive victories.
Whereas defense had keyed the previous night’s triumph over the Hawks, the Rockets rained down shot after shot to break the Thunder’s backs. Houston shot a season-best 52.3 percent from the field and 50 percent on 3-pointers in the game, with four players making at least three shots from deep and every starter scoring in double figures.
Jalen Green led the Rockets in a balanced offensive effort with 28 points and a career-high nine assists. Rookie Jabari Smith Jr. notched his third double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds. Center Alperen Sengun, who missed Friday’s game with a groin injury, returned and posted 21 points with a career-high 19 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season.
Kevin Porter Jr. added 16 points with six assists. Eric Gordon, back in the starting lineup after sitting out against the Hawks, had 15 points. Garrison Mathews added 11 points off the bench.
For OKC, Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey combined for 50 points. The rest of the Thunder scored 55 points.
Green is great, again
Racing down the left sideline, Green called for the ball before Porter had even crossed the midcourt line with it, and did not leave his feet until Porter’s pass was at the peak height above the court. Green caught it with an outstretched left hand, looking like a cross between a wide receiver and a Michelangelo fresco painting, and redirected the ball through the hoop for an unlikely alley-oop finish.
It went like that for most of the evening, as Green played as if the ball was connected from his hand to the rim by an invisible string. He was purposeful in his shot selection and efficient in his execution, scoring 28 points on 19 shot attempts in 34 minutes with a 6 of 9 mark from deep. His six 3-pointers were a season high.
Green has scored at least 20 points in 11 games this season, the most of any player on the Rockets.
Shoot the lights out
After making 12 3-pointers through four quarters Friday night, the Rockets shot 11-of-19 behind the arc in the first half against the Thunder. Green and Smith each knocked down three, but the Rockets also received a boost from Mathews, who carried over his torrid shooting performance against the Hawks and drilled back-to-back 3pointers in his first three minutes on the floor.
OKC entered Saturday ranked first in the NBA in paint points, averaging 57.1 per game. Although the Rockets went toe-to-toe with the Thunder there, they achieved separation by launching with accuracy from deep. The Rockets’ 18 triples were their most since they hit a seasonhigh 24 in a Nov. 7 win at Orlando.
Green made his first six 3-point attempts in the game, a season high, and did not miss one until the 5:23 mark of the third quarter. Gordon went 4-of-6 from deep, Smith 3-of-8 and Mathews 3-of-4.
Second-quarter surge
The Rockets built a 10point lead in the first quarter, but a horrendous stretch of turnovers and missed offensive rebound opportunities helped to erase it. Gordon’s shot with 2.2 seconds left wrestled back a slim 23-22 lead.
Gordon’s basket kicked off a 29-9 Rockets run that spanned the first eight minutes of the second quarter. Aided by critical contributions from reserves Mathews and Tari Eason, the Rockets outscored the Thunder 42-22 in the second quarter.
Houston made 80 percent of its shots and 63.6 percent of its 3-pointers in the second quarter. Green, Sengun and Eason combined to go a perfect 8-of-8 from the field. The Rockets made almost as many 3pointers (7-of-11) as the Thunder did field goals (9of-23).