Houston wins fourth in a row after another impressive shooting display
It’s appearing as if this season there’s two factors that result in a Rockets win, either an Amen Thompson start, or Jalen Green going for 30+. Tonight, Houston got both and looked solid as ever in a game that was over by the third quarter. As said, the game was decided by well before the final buzzer, part of that being due to Houston holding the lead the entire game. Not allowing New Orleans to even have any true momentum, there was never much of an home advantage in this one.
A major part of that is due to the play of Jalen Green, who as previously mentioned, had 30 points. Setting the tone early, Green got off to a hot start, scoring 16 points on an efficient 7-9 shooting from the field in just the first quarter alone. And while he may have slowed down a bit after, Jalen still reached 30 points in under 30 minutes and only three quarters of play, once again proving his offense is always valuable when he plays good. And if you want a stat to prove it, here you go, Houston is 5-0 when he drops 30+, coincidence? I think not.
Also playing efficient and valuable minutes was Fred VanVleet who had 25 points in three quarters of play himself. Knocking down seven threes and going 8-15 from the floor, VanVleet was a main contributor of Houston’s excellent third quarter that put the game away. Meanwhile, with Dillon Brooks out again tonight as well, Amen Thompson stepped into that starting role quite nicely once more, providing nine points and ten rebounds to go with some stellar defense. This season when Amen has been given the opportunity to start, he’s made full advantage of it, and so have the Rockets, going 4-0 in said games. Just as I said with Jalen, I’ll say with Amen; Coincidence? I think not.
All in all, Houston’s starting lineup was very good against the Pelicans, dropping a combined 80 points as a collective. Alperen Sengun contributed 10 points, 13 rebounds, and 6 assists, while Jabari Smith Jr. struggled from the floor, but made up on the defensive end, tallying up a few nice plays.
What truly won the game though was the offensive outburst of Houston. Coming out firing in the first quarter and going 15-25 from the field and 5-10 from three, a 20-6 run helped propel the Rockets to outscore New Orleans 39-22. The second quarter wasn’t the same story offensively, but defensively was just as good, holding the Pels to 21 points and still winning the quarter although they went 1-13 from downtown.
However, it was the third quarter that set the game out of hand, with Houston going on a heater scoring the ball. Putting up 41 points in the quarter, Houston, led by VanVleet’s 15 points and five threes, had efficient numbers across the board, going 15-29 from the field and 9-16 from beyond the arc. Cam Whitmore also began to get some good run about here and dropped seven before going off for 13 in the fourth quarter, leading him to a career high 27 points. Very good and productive minutes from Whitmore, this game may be the turning point in his season as he looks to crack the rotation and get true, consistent minutes.
In the end however, Houston’s balance on both ends was able to secure them another blowout victory, raising their record to 21-9 on the season, and second in the West. Another quick stat I want to mention is the fact that the Rockets are 7-0 when scoring over 125 points which I think is a nice nod. Just goes to show that when the offense is clicking, they’re a very hard team to beat. But, as of now, the Houston Rockets turn their focus onto the Minnesota TimberWolves in whom they face Friday at home in the second game of a back to back. That will be on at 7:00 CST per usual, and hopefully Houston can extend their win streak out to five games. We will have that game covered here on DreamShake though per usual, so make sure to join in and stay updated!