Earlier this week, the Houston Rockets had lost 15 straight games and were a mess offensively, having scored 90 points or fewer in three of their last five outings. Now, after shifting Christian Wood to center and embracing a smaller lineup with more shooters and floor spacing, they’re on a two-game winning streak in front of adoring fans at Toyota Center.
Led by an 23-of-49 showing on 3-pointers (46.9%), the smaller Rockets set a new season-high for treys in a second straight game, leading them to Saturday’s 146-143 overtime win over Charlotte (box score). Individually, Houston’s clear standouts were Wood (career-high 33 points, 16 rebounds) and Kevin Porter Jr. (23 points, 12 assists, 8 rebounds).
Most impressively, these victories by the Rockets aren’t simply a product of a weak schedule. The Hornets (13-9) and Bulls (13-7) are each clearly in the Eastern Conference playoff field at the moment, and yet the young Rockets (3-16) found a way to close out tight games in the fourth quarter and averaged 126.5 regulation points per game in those two wins.
Granted, in the case of Charlotte, the Hornets were on the second night of a back-to-back in two different cities. But Porter and the Rockets used that to their advantage by pushing pace and getting out in transition, which often led to good looks for shooters such as Garrison Mathews (20 points, 5-of-9 on 3-pointers), Armoni Brooks (15 points, 5-of-11 on 3-pointers), and Eric Gordon (22 points, 7 assists, 4-of-7 on 3-pointers).
The Rockets will conclude their three-game homestand on Monday versus Oklahoma City (6-13). On paper, with a home-and-home sequence looming against the Thunder followed by home games versus Orlando (4-16) and New Orleans (5-16), it could be a chance for Houston to build on its sudden momentum and stack some wins together, for a change.
For now, scroll on for a look at highlights and key takeaways from Saturday’s encouraging showing from the Rockets versus Charlotte. Veteran guard Terry Rozier led the visitors with 31 points in the loss, but Houston limited him to just 9-of-23 shooting (39.1%) from the field.
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