With Houston guard Russell Westbrook out to rest on the front end of a back-to-back, backcourt co-star and NBA scoring leader James Harden broke 40 points for the fourth time in seven games.
But it wasn’t nearly enough on the road against Rookie of the Year frontrunner Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies (19-22), who extended their impressive winning streak to six games in a 121-110 victory over Harden’s Rockets (26-13) on Tuesday night (box score).
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The Grizzlies were led by their lightning-quick point guard with 26 points and eight assists on 10-of-11 shooting (90.9%), including 3-of-4 on 3-pointers (75%). Backcourt mate Dillon Brooks wasn’t far behind, scoring 24 points on a blistering 6-of-10 clip (60%) from 3-point range.
Mike D’Antoni on Ja Morant: “It’s hard to stay in front of him. He is fast and athletic. He’s going to be a great player. He already is.”
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) January 15, 2020
With Morant setting the tone, Memphis took advantage of leaky transition defense to outscore Houston, 25-7, in fast-break points.
Per Synergy, Houston came into tonight as the third-worst team in the league in terms of transition defense. Gave up 25 fast break points to an upstart, exciting Grizzlies team.
— Kelly Iko (@KellyIkoNBA) January 15, 2020
Harden had 41 points, six assists, and six rebounds, and the Rockets were a +3 in the 39 minutes played by the former MVP. Eric Gordon also shot well with 23 points on 9-of-19 shooting (47.4%) off the bench.
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But unlike recent games, when Westbrook had significant success leading the Rockets’ lineups with Harden on the bench, Houston was outscored by 14 points in the nine minutes that Harden sat on Tuesday.
Danuel House tonight: 26 minutes, 4 points, 1-3 FG, one three-point attempt, 2 turnovers, no assists, no steals, no blocks, -23.
Something isn't right because there's no point in playing him right now.
— ClutchFans (@clutchfans) January 15, 2020
Since December 9th, the Rockets have been at their best when… Harden is sitting on the bench.
Over the last month they have an insane 116.4 ORTG and a 102.2 DRTG in those minutes, where Westbrook is averaging a ridiculous 35.4 PTS and 9.6 AST per 75 possessions on 55.4 TS% pic.twitter.com/L60uv0tYQK
— Disney Gary Clark (@Itamar1710) January 12, 2020
The Rockets simply lacked the scorers in those minutes without Harden to keep up with Memphis’ blossoming young talent in the form of Morant, Brooks, and a pair of athletic forwards in Brandon Clarke and Jaren Jackson Jr., who combined for 29 points.
On the interior, Clint Capela fared well with 16 points (6-of-7 shooting, 85.7%) and 16 rebounds, but he missed time in the second half due to foul trouble with five fouls. Starting center Jonas Valanciunas led the Grizzlies with 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting, or 57.1%.
Memphis won the fourth and final quarter, 36-27, to put the game away. It’s the second loss of three games for Houston, and the eighth win in a 10-game stretch for the red-hot Grizzlies.
Griz stay hot & beat the Rockets 121-110. They had 6 finish in double-figures. They have a plethora of young talent & they all played great. Give Morant the Rookie of the Year now. Harden dropped 41, his 5th st 40pt game vs Memphis, but took 37 shots. HOU has lost 4 of 5 on road
— Craig Ackerman (@ca_rockets) January 15, 2020
The Rockets have a quick turnaround before their next challenge, which takes place Wednesday night from Toyota Center in Houston against the Portland Trail Blazers (17-24). Tip-off is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. Central, and the game will be nationally televised on ESPN.
Westbrook is expected to return to the starting lineup for that game.