Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun continue to lead the way.
The Houston Rockets spent much the first half struggling with the Portland Trail Blazers, heading into the halftime break with a one-point lead, but a huge 15-0 third quarter run by the Rockets singlaled lift off, and Houston cruised to a 125-103 win.
Jalen Green once again led the way for Houston, having another efficient night scoring the basketball. He finished with 26 points on 10-for-17 shooting from the field and 4-for-6 from deep to go along with 5 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal. Alperen Sengun also performed well, finishing with 23 points, 15 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and a block. Having these two playing good ball on the same night makes the Rockets really tough to beat, and they continue to do it consistently of late. The last time the Rockets had a guard-center combo playing this well together was James Harden and Dwight Howard, and before that, it was T-Mac and Yao. Those two offseason extensions are starting to look better and better.
Dillon Brooks went off for 22 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 asists, while Cam Whitmore finished with 12 points and snagged 10 boards, which made up for shooting just 4-for-14. Tari Eason was everywhere, finishing with 18 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals. That time off seems to have helped him, and he’s right back to doing the same things as before.
Fellow Terror Twin Amen Thompson sat with a sore knee. It’s not thought to be serious, and I can’t wait until this team is finally back at full strength when Jabari Smith returns as well. The true extent of Houston’s depth has been on full display of late, as the team mostly keeps winning, even when guys are out.
The Blazers were led by Scoot Henderson with 21 points and 11 assists and by Toumani Camara with 17 points. Anfernee Simons and Shaedon Sharpe finished with 13 each. The Blazers shot 45 percent from the field and committed 19 turnovers. The Rockets won the points off turnovers battle 24-11, and that continues to be one of Houston’s calling cards, and it was on display again vs. Portland.
The Rockets moved to 28-13 on the season and hold a 1.5-game lead over Memphis for the second seed. With the season at the exact halfway mark for the Rockets, they are on pace right now for a 56-26 season. They’ll be back in action on Monday with a daytime game against the Detroit Pistons.