Tag: Mike D’Antoni

Westbrook adds to career shooting surge as Rockets win fifth straight

Led by 33 points from Westbrook, the Rockets (38-20) routed Memphis on Wednesday for their fifth consecutive win and eighth in 10 games.

Russell Westbrook and James Harden combined for 63 points on 60% shooting as the Houston Rockets cruised to a fifth straight win with a 140-112 blowout (box score) of visiting Memphis on Wednesday night.

Westbrook led Houston in scoring and rebounding with 33 and nine, respectively, while Harden was second with 30 and seven. Best of all, led by the 2020 All-Star duo of former MVPs, the Rockets (38-20) have now won eight of 10 games and are a season-best 18 games over .500.

The Grizzlies (28-30), who remain in the Western Conference’s eighth and final playoff spot, were paced by 22 points from Dillon Brooks.

Since Houston’s Feb. 5 trade for Robert Covington and the permanent switch to a smaller lineup — designed to provide defensive versatility and floor spacing — Westbrook has exceeded 52% shooting in all six of his games played, and he’s scored more than 30 points in five of them.

Prior to this run, the longest streak of consecutive games in Westbrook’s entire 12-year NBA career at 52% or better shooting was three.

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The Rockets have won five of those six games during Westbrook’s surge, with all victories by double digits. The one loss was on a very improbable buzzer-beater from Utah’s Bojan Bogdanovic.

Houston’s versatile defense was also a big storyline Wednesday, with the Rockets taking a commanding 35-17 lead after the first quarter. It’s the third time in February that the Rockets have limited an opponent below 20 points in the first quarter, and they’re 3-0 in those games.

Prior to February and the switch to a smaller lineup, Houston had only held an opponent below 20 points in the first quarter once all season.

Covington led the way in the frontcourt with six rebounds and three blocks, giving him 18 blocked shots over his last five games.

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Memphis did finish with 112 points, but 65 of those came in the second half after the game was long over. Houston took a overwhelming 82-47 advantage less than two minutes into the third quarter.

Reserve guards Austin Rivers and Ben McLemore continued their hot shooting of recent weeks, combining for 34 points on 13-of-18 shooting (72.2%) and 7-of-12 on 3-pointers (58.3%).

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Backup center Jeff Green, who announced pregame that he had agreed to a rest-of-season contract with the Rockets, had 11 points on 50% shooting from 3-point range, along with five rebounds and four assists.

Thanks to the blowout, no Houston starter played 35 minutes. Other than Westbrook (34), no one on the roster even played 30 minutes.

The Rockets will now have two off days before returning to action Saturday night in Boston. Tip-off from TD Garden is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Central, with the game televised on a national ABC broadcast.

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