The Houston Rockets had the floor spacing they craved on Thursday at Golden State, with frontcourt starters Robert Covington and P.J. Tucker each making five 3-pointers in a 135-105 rout (box score).
James Harden led the Rockets (35-20) with 29 points and 10 assists, while Russell Westbrook added 21 points and 10 assists. It’s the sixth win in eight games for the Rockets, with the 6-foot-5 Tucker starting at center in each of them as part of Houston’s new-look smaller lineup.
Covington was Houston’s third-leading scorer with 20 points, and he also added five rebounds and a game-high four blocks. It’s the second consecutive game with the Rockets for Covington to block four shots.
Covington. Tuff. pic.twitter.com/PXcvN44ewZ
— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) February 21, 2020
Robert Covington:
20 points
5 rebounds7-13 from the field
5-10 from 3-PT range
1-1 from the FT lineNon-Harden team high of +31
— Salman Ali (@SalmanAliNBA) February 21, 2020
Due to the blowout, no Rockets player exceeded 30 minutes in the game, with head coach Mike D’Antoni playing 12 men in total.
Tucker hit his five 3-pointers in the first half, which helped build a 22-point halftime lead over the outmatched Warriors (12-44). For Houston, it was sweet revenge after a shocking loss at Chase Center on Christmas.
Small Ball Basketball 🚀 pic.twitter.com/jFOxskzoKM
— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) February 21, 2020
FINAL: Rockets 135, Warriors 105. You hate to see it. Rockets crush the Warriors out of the gate, drop in 25 threes and get revenge for the Christmas Day embarrassment. Harden 29p-10a through 3Q, Westbrook 21p-10a, Covington/Tucker/Jeff Green hit 14-20 3P (!)
— ClutchFans (@clutchfans) February 21, 2020
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Veteran big man Jeff Green, who signed just two days ago, added to Houston’s depth of frontcourt shooters by scoring 17 points and hitting four-of-five shots from 3-point range in his Rockets debut.
Overall, Houston made 25-of-49 3-pointers (51.0%) as a team, while Golden State hit just 7-of-33 from 3-point range (21.9%).
Fifteen 3s in the first-half.
🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀 pic.twitter.com/f3dN4IDn0B— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) February 21, 2020
Jeff Green going 3/4 on 3s is a positive for #Rockets, but small things like this are why he'll be a good fit as backup 5. He's able to run the offense as a 5, but add ability to slip dribble hand-offs in a way P.J. can't. He is also athletic to slash/cut from baseline for lobs. pic.twitter.com/FBgPs3iV8b
— Alykhan Bijani (@Rockets_Insider) February 21, 2020
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The Warriors were led by 22 points from newcomer Andrew Wiggins.
The Rockets have a much larger challenge looming Saturday when they visit the Jazz in Salt Lake City. Houston trails Utah (36-18) by 1.5 games in the Western Conference standings in the race for home-court advantage in at least the first round of the 2020 NBA playoffs, and Saturday’s game will also decide any potential tiebreaker between the teams.
Guard Eric Gordon did not play Thursday due to a bruised left shin, but the hope is that he’ll be back for Saturday’s game. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. Central from Vivint Smart Home Arena.
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Rockets blowout the W's 135-105 in their 1st game post All-Star break. Houston nailed 25 3's. 6 players finished in double-figures including 17 from Jeff Green who was terrific in his Rockets debut. RoCo had 20 & 4 more blocks. PJ hit 5 3's & James/Russ each had double-doubles
— Craig Ackerman (@ca_rockets) February 21, 2020