Victor Oladipo scored a team-high 27 points on 9-of-21 shooting (42.9%), including 4-of-10 on 3-pointers (40.0%), but it wasn’t enough for the Houston Rockets in Friday’s 122-111 loss (box score) to Toronto.
It’s the 10th straight loss for the Rockets (11-20), which hasn’t happened for the franchise in more than 20 years. All of those losses have come without star center Christian Wood, who sprained his right ankle on Feb. 4. Houston went 7-1 in the eight games prior to that injury.
For Oladipo, it was his first time in the month of February to exceed 40% from the field, and his second-highest scoring game (out of 13) since being traded to the Rockets in mid-January. John Wall added 21 points and a game-high 12 assists, while Eric Gordon scored 17 off the bench.
A two-time All-Star in the final year of his contract, Oladipo is widely viewed as a likely trade candidate by the NBA’s March 25 deadline — assuming the Rockets don’t dramatically turn their season around.
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The Raptors (17-17), who hosted the game in their temporary home of Tampa due to the COVID-19 pandemic, were led by 30 points from Norman Powell. Fred VanVleet added 25 points, while Kyle Lowry had a triple-double with 20 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists.
Houston trailed by as many as 23 in the third quarter before cutting the lead to as small as six in the fourth, but they couldn’t get over the hump.
Here’s a selection of highlights and postgame reaction from Friday night in Tampa. The Rockets will return to action on Sunday night in Houston, when they host the Memphis Grizzlies on the first night of a back-to-back. If usual trends hold, Wall and Oladipo are each likely to miss one game of the two to be played on Sunday and Monday at Toyota Center.
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