The Houston Rockets were without four of their five desired starters (Eric Gordon, Christian Wood, Kevin Porter Jr., Jalen Green) on Wednesday in Cleveland, and head coach Stephen Silas left early due to dehydration. Meanwhile, the surging Cavaliers entered with eight wins in their last 10 games, and all by dominant double-digit margins.
To no surprise, it all added up to a 124-89 blowout (box score) by the Cavaliers (18-12), who led by 19 points after the first quarter and cruised to an easy win. Rookie big man Alperen Sengun did take advantage of widespread absences on the Rockets (9-19), setting career-highs with 19 points and 11 rebounds in 28 minutes. The 19-year-old shot an efficient 7-of-14 from the field (50.0%) and also dished out 5 assists.
Darius Garland led the host Cavaliers on Wednesday with 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting (63.6%), while backcourt mate Isaac Okoro scored 20 points in just 22 minutes, including 3-of-3 on 3-pointers.
Besides Sengun, other Houston players to score in double figures were:
- Josh Christopher: 17 points, 4 assists in 27 minutes
- KJ Martin: 14 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals in 26 minutes
- David Nwaba: 11 points, 5 rebounds in 27 minutes
- Jae’Sean Tate: 12 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals in 29 minutes
Houston flew home late Wednesday night for the second half of their back-to-back on Thursday versus New York, with tipoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m. CST from Toyota Center. Gordon is expected to return for that game, though Wood is not likely to be ready. Green and Porter remain without a projected return timetable. For now, scroll on for highlights and postgame reaction following a brutal loss at Cleveland.
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