Danuel House Jr., James Harden downplay angry incident in Atlanta

Rockets forward Danuel House Jr. appears to have put an angry incident from the first quarter of Wednesday’s win at Atlanta behind him.

It was and is unclear exactly what happened, but Houston Rockets forward Danuel House Jr. appears to have put an angry incident from the first quarter of Wednesday’s victory at Atlanta behind him.

In his postgame notes, the Houston Chronicle‘s Jonathan Feigen writes:

House was incensed by something Harden said after a dead ball that sent the game to a timeout. House took a couple of steps toward the bench, then grew furious. By the time he reached the bench, he stomped on a chair. He spent the next few minutes pacing and shouting as teammates tried, and initially failed to calm him.

When he returned to the game, playing 37 minutes with his usual place in the rotation, he seemed to have moved past whatever made him so angry. He would not share what was said or why he reacted as he did. He offered a smile, which he pointed out, when he said he was “happy.” Harden also said he did not know why House was so upset, though it is a safe bet both knew exactly why.

Part of the incident between House and Harden was captured by television cameras, including the moment House kicked a chair.

Kelly Iko of The Athletic reported that veterans Thabo Sefolosha and Tyson Chandler were the ones who ultimately calmed House down.

During the two plays prior to this, House had tried to create something off the dribble twice against Kevin Huerter but was unsuccessful. After the second one, Harden came up to speak to him. Headed toward the bench during the timeout, House became irate and snapped. He yelled, kicked at a chair and refused to sit, while players and coaches wondered what in the world was going on. He eventually sat at the very end of the bench, right beside Keith Jones. Thabo Sefolosha and Tyson Chandler eventually calmed him down.

After the game, House said he was good, and Harden laughed off the question of the incident. Crisis averted.

House fell hard to the floor minutes before the incident, leading some to wonder whether he might have been in pain. (House has missed time this year with both a bruised lower back and a left shoulder injury.)

The 6-foot-6 small forward missed both ensuing free throws.

Harden clearly did not want to discuss the incident in his postgame interview. (The exchange when Harden is asked about it begins at 2:55.)

Whatever happened didn’t seem to have an impact on the team’s performance or House’s usage for the remainder of the game. The Rockets built up their lead as large as 23 points following the exchange, and House played 37 minutes in total.

Now 26 years old and in his second season with the Rockets, House has been in something of a slump in recent weeks.

In 14 games since Dec. 9, House is averaging 9.3 points per game on 39.5% shooting overall and 29.9 on 3-pointers. By comparison, in the 16 games he played prior to that, House averaged 12.1 points per game on 46.6% shooting and 44.0% on 3-pointers.

Between his recent slump and the hard fall, it would be understandable if House was already in a mildly agitated state.

Nonetheless, he seemed to move past it as the game moved along, and the Rockets (25-11) eventually won at Atlanta (8-30) to secure their third straight victory and fourth in five games.

House and the Rockets will look to turn the page quickly from the Atlanta game, with a much bigger challenge looming Thursday night at Oklahoma City (21-16). Tip-off is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. Central.

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