Eason’s tenacity epitomizes recent victories
KJ Martin picked up a loose ball and headed straight for the rim, where he does his most damage and where the Rockets feasted Wednesday. Cut off, he had to try a running hook that missed.
Tari Eason got the rebound.
Eason’s shot missed, but Martin got the rebound. His shot was blocked. But Eason swiped the rebound from Oklahoma City’s Tre Mann under the basket.
With that, things got “insane.”
Eason missed the layup.
But he got the rebound. Martin missed a tip. But Eason got the rebound.
Eason missed the tip. But he got the rebound. Eason missed another tip.
But he got the rebound. Finally, Eason grabbed the ball with both hands, put up a soft layup through a Josh Giddey foul, and the Rockets had the most difficult, inexplicable 3-point play imaginable.
Eason had four offensive rebounds on the possession, five on one trip down the floor.
He also captured how the Rockets found a way past the Oklahoma City Thunder 112-106 on Wednesday at Toyota Center.
It was far from pretty.
But to those that appreciate the grind, the sort of nonstop, all-out effort that the Rockets had pledged going into the season would be their style, it was beautiful.
“That was insane,” said Rockets guard Josh Christopher, who had 11 points for a second consecutive game, tying his season high. “Just Tari’s rebounding clinic on that one possession was insane. We love it, though.”
Eason grabbed 12 offensive rebounds, matching Steven Adams, Ivica Zubac and Aaron Gordon for the most in the NBA this season.
Also typical of the night, he had just one defensive rebound. The Rockets’ 24 offensive rebounds were the most in a game for the team that leads the NBA in that category. The 24 offensive rebounds they allowed were also the most for a Rockets opponent.
The game brought the most offensive boards for the Thunder or a Thunder opponent this season. Both teams have not had 24 offensive rebounds in a regulation game since April 14, 2003, when the Clippers played at Golden State.
Eason played a starring role Wednesday.
“I’ve never seen someone get 12 offensive rebounds and 13 total,” Rockets coach Stephen Silas said. “But that just shows the fight that we had in that moment of the game. For us to have 65 rebounds in an NBA game and 24 on the offensive end, it shows you where we were at tonight. And it was a good place.”
For Eason, who added a career-high 20 points with three steals and two blocked shots in just 19 minutes, the game was also a retort a day after he was not named to the Rising Stars player pool for All-Star weekend. Since 1983-84, he is the second player with 20 points and 13 rebounds in fewer than 20 minutes and the fourth with 12 offensive rebounds and one or no defensive rebounds in a game.
“When you put in the work and stay true to what got you here, it doesn’t matter what anyone or the outside world thinks,” Eason said. “I know what I bring.
“Anytime I step on the court, I want to bring a lot of effort, a lot of hustle. That’s just what I do. When you bring energy, especially off the bench, I think it’s infectious. It bleeds into the team in all facets.”
Eason said the message of the Rockets’ consecutive wins, the first time they have followed a win with another since Dec. 11 and 13, was “be hungry, bring the fight, do what you do.”
He did that. But more than a statement for a rookie happy to put up a fight, the Rockets won the only way they can consistently.
They have outshot opponents in seven consecutive games, their longest run since the 2017-18 season. Although Houston ranks last in shooting percentage this season, it has shot better in recent weeks, making 47.6 percent of its shots in the past seven games. But the Rockets held the Thunder to 36.9 percent shooting, and Houston’s field goal percentage in the past seven games has been eighth-best in the NBA.
The Rockets’ defense, ranked 28th in the league, has been ranked eighth in the past seven games.
“We did a really good job defensively,” Silas said. “It started this morning in the shootaround. I could tell that we had a good focus. I could tell that we were on the coverages, and there were a few special coverages that we had today that we did, and we executed well.”
Executing the game plan was essential, but so was the scrappiness. The Rockets’ 12 blocked shots were their second most this season. With Eric Gordon, Daishen Nix and Jae’Sean Tate taking turns on OKC star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, they helped hold a 51 percent shooter (54 percent in his 13 games last month) to 7-of-23 shooting and 24 points, nearly seven shy of his average.
“We’re just playing good, sound basketball,” said Gordon, who had a season-high 25 points and has consecutive games of at least 20 points for the first time since a threegame run from Dec. 3-8. “It’s not the prettiest right now, but we’re finding ways to win. The guys are grinding it out, playing good defense. And just rebounding the ball is always going to give you a chance. That’s how you win ugly games.
“Finding ways to win in close games, those are the ways that you grow as a team.”