Brooks delivers when called
Former UH player has 14 in first shot at extensive time since signing
Armoni Brooks expected to spend Monday in New Zealand, still stuck in quarantine.
Not even two weeks ago, he was in the airport, preparing to make that long flight for the start of a career overseas when the Rockets called, offering a two-way contract that would bring him back home where he had starred for the University of Houston from 2016 to 2019.
Nine days after signing with the Rockets, rather than waiting to be cleared to leave a New Zealand hotel room, Brooks found himself checking in to
Monday’s game at Phoenix to compete with All-Stars in the first meaningful minutes of his career and perhaps demonstrating that he belongs.
“Being able to be here and play at this level is a dream come true, and it couldn’t happen at a better time,” Brooks said.
“Just checking into the game and seeing Chris Paul come into the game, it was kind of like, ‘Wow, this is Chris Paul in front of me. Then Devin Booker checked into the game. I’m like, bro, I’ve been watching these players for years. Being on the same floor as them was kind of crazy. You can’t get too starstruck in the moment. You go out there and execute and produce for the team.”
He produced enough to trigger the Rockets’ comeback in a 126-120 loss. After playing three minutes against the Warriors on Saturday, the Rockets needed him for considerably more. Sterling Brown was hurt after four minutes on Saturday. D.J. Augustin sprained his right ankle after 3½ minutes on Monday. In the second half, the Rockets turned to Brooks.
He responded, making 4 of 5 3-pointers and adding a sharp baseline cut to a layup, scoring 14 points in his 14 minutes.
“That was awesome,” coach Stephen Silas said. “That was awesome to see. Had him in in the fourth quarter of a tight game and he was stepping up and making shots. That was great. It was something really cool to see.”
It helped turn the game around with Brooks stepping in for the Rockets’ hottest 3-point shooter this season, Brown, to be their hottest shooter in the game.
“Everything just kind of went well,” he said. “My teammates were playing unselfish. Everybody was looking to make the right plays. We got out there and we were just executing what coach told us to do. We made a push. It just wasn’t enough to get it done tonight.”
“Not being able to practice, your teammates don’t know who you are as a player. They just go on word of mouth. Being able to go out there showing I’m capable of playing at this level or at least producing some is a great motivation. Just got to keep it going, keep building confidence.
“It was just years and years of preparation. To finally be able to go out there and show it is a great feeling.”