For three quarters on Monday night at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia the Houston Rockets looked as if they were stuck in a bad dream that had Atlanta Hawks superstar point guard Trae Young as the villain. He left most of the crowd in awe with his array of shots that just continued to fall with ease.
Watching things transpire from the Rockets bench was a player who didn’t know if he would be inserted into the game or not, but he knew that if head coach Stephen Silas called his name, he would be ready.
Forward David Nwaba got that opportunity late in the third quarter when guard Armoni Brooks was removed from the game after having lingering effects from an undisclosed injury that happened in the first half.
Nwaba’s impact was immediately felt as he hit a three-pointer in the closing seconds to help the Rockets pull within 101-88 heading into the fourth quarter.
In the final quarter, it would be the four-year NBA veteran who imposed his will on both ends of the court, but it was his defensive intensity on Trae Young that helped the Rockets defeat the Hawks 132-126. He finished the game with 10 points, six rebounds, and three assists in 11 minutes of action.
Although circumstances dictated that coach Silas put Nwaba in the game, he felt very confident about the situation:
I’ve been talking about putting Dave in the games for like three games. I put him in the last couple games, gave him like five minutes, brought him back out. Armoni (Brooks) was kind of limping around out there. Garrison (Mathews) was struggling a little bit. So, I just threw him out there.
When I put him in, Young wasn’t in the game, but I knew if we needed someone to guard Young, Dave would be an option. So, when Young came back, Dave guarded him and fought.
The Rockets comeback wasn’t just fueled by the energy of Nwaba. Eric Gordon had a season high 32 points and reserve guard D.J.Augustin chipped in with 22 points. Both players combined to go 6 of 7 from three-point range as Houston scored 44 points in the fourth quarter to stun the Hawks.
“This was a great way for our team to show growth because we were down the whole game,” Gordon said. “Different guys stepped up. D.J. stepped up huge tonight. Even K.J. (Martin) had his moments. Even David Nwaba had his moments. When you have so many guys doing that, you give yourselves a chance to win.”
What made this win so important to the Rockets role players such as KJ Martin and rookie Alperen Sengun was the confidence their coach showed in them by leaving the lineup in that had the momentum in the fourth quarter to close out the game.
“We are all capable of closing out games,” said Nwaba. “Whoever is hot, I think coach Silas did a good job of keeping those guys in. We brought us back in the game and he kept us in throughout the fourth quarter.”