The 2009-10 season was a memorable one for undersized point guard Aaron Brooks. In his third NBA campaign, Houston’s first-round pick from the 2007 NBA Draft broke out with career highs of 19.6 points (39.8% on 3-pointers) and 5.3 assists in 35.6 minutes per game.
With former All-Stars Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady combining to play only six games due to injury before McGrady was traded away at the league’s February deadline, Brooks played a key role in Houston exceeding its post-injury expectations and finishing with a winning record (42-40).
For the lightning-quick 6-foot-0 guard out of Oregon, it was a game 10 years ago on March 17, 2010, that was among his most memorable.
In a 107-94 victory (box score) over the visiting Memphis Grizzlies (36-33), Brooks made all seven of his attempted 3-pointers and scored a game-high 31 points — leading his Rockets (35-31) to a convincing win over the Mike Conley, Zach Randolph, and Rudy Gay-led Grizzlies.
Brooks connected on 11-of-14 shots (78.6%) overall, and he also had five rebounds and four assists in his 36 minutes.
Now 35 years old, Brooks has seemingly retired after tearing his Achilles in October 2019 during a game in Australia. In all, he played 12 professional seasons, including parts of six different seasons in Houston.
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(Editor’s note: With the 2019-20 season on hiatus due to the NBA’s coronavirus-induced shutdown, we’re looking back at key moments in franchise history. We’ll have more of our Rockets Rewind series coming up, since the league’s stoppage is expected to last at least 30 days.)