The winning streak grew to seven straight after an all-around effort from the home team.
Your Houston Rockets notched their seventh straight victory as they got a healthy punch off the bench tonight. The visiting Chicago Bulls went down by 19 points early, but this game never got too out of hand in what ultimately resulted into a 127-117 outcome favoring the Rockets.
Jalen Green led the way in scoring for the Rockets with 26 points on 10-22 from the field. He exercised his new found level of confidence in the open court whenever he got the chance and it helped Houston build their early lead.
Also setting the tone for Houston was Dillon Brooks as his 23 points and hard-nosed defense played an instrumental role prior to his third quarter ejection. More on this to come.
Amen Thompson continued to make the most out of his role in the dunker spot en route to 15 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists. Meanwhile, despite having a limited shooting night, Fred VanVleet found impact once more as a quintessential floor general, totaling 9 points and 12 assists.
However, the true star of this game was the Rockets bench as Ime Udoka’s squad got huge contributions from Jeff Green, Jock Landale and Aaron Holiday. Uncle Jeff continued to defy age with 14 points and 7 rebounds. Landale was particularly impressive as he posted a Sengun-esque line of 17 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 blocks.
Holiday chipped in with 15 points, including a quick solo burst in the first half that propelled the Rockets to a large lead.
To me, it’s Landale that settled the Rockets early, especially as Jabari Smith Jr. became marred in foul trouble. It was clear that the foul trouble threw off Jabari as he only managed to tally 5 points on 2-10 from the field.
Landale did the most with his minutes, often finding himself in the middle of the offense, as he made the Bulls pay with his passing and finishing. Kudos to Jock for stepping up, once again.
The Bulls were able to make this a competitive game in the second quarter despite the Rockets setting the basket ablaze in the first quarter. Chicago was able to find some success with their double big lineup featuring Nikola Vucevic and Andre Drummond in the first half, shrinking the lead to an uncomfortable margin.
Fortunately for the Rockets, this didn’t work out as well for the Bulls as the game progressed.
The game came to a screeching halt during the third quarter after a scuffle broke out between DeMar DeRozan and DB. DeRozan was assessed a flagrant 2 after it was determined he excessively fouled Jalen Green. Brooks picked up the subsequent ejection following a technical as he attempted to defend his teammate.
All in all, it was a net benefit for the Rockets as the Bulls lost their best player for the remainder of the game. Chicago could have certainly used DeRozan’s knack for clutch buckets as they attempted to pull off the second half comeback.
Overall, it was a solid win for the Rockets who continue to put pressure on the teams ahead of them in the play-in standings.
If I had to nitpick from this game, my biggest gripes are some of Jalen’s shot selections. He took and missed some unnecessarily tough jumpers, but on the opposite side of the spectrum, he also made some tough ones.
I also would have preferred that Ayo Dosunmu been guarded with more urgency. The guy either had a straight line to the hoop or was wide open from three. No wonder his 35 points looked like a breeze.
Other than that, a win is a win. Let’s keep them rolling in.