McLemore plays well as a starter

Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni had no issues with how Ben McLemore had been playing, though his shooting had been off. Going into Saturday, he’d made 7 of 32 3-pointers in his five games.

McLemore’s energy and play in general made D’Antoni confident about starting him Saturday with Danuel House Jr. out.

It did not hurt that McLemore has shot well whenever he has started, a trend that continued when he made 9 of 14 shots en route to a season-high 23 points. He also had a career-high 13 rebounds.

“Ben’s been playing well,” D’Antoni said. “He just had a few games where he didn’t shoot the ball well. It seems that every time he starts, he shoots it well, and when he comes off the bench, he doesn’t. Ben has been playing great.”