Dirty evening for the Blazers since Scoot Henderson left his teammates, injured in the shoulder, and above all they lost at the buzzer on a miracle basket from Jabari Smith Jr.! Everything was therefore played on the last possession, and it is the strong winger of the Rockets who tells. There were 0.6 seconds left and Portland was leading 99-97!
“The coach had designed a system where I just had to catch the ball” says Smith. “Tari probably couldn’t have made a better pass. I knew I had six tenths. I turned around and fired. »
Beyond this miracle basket, which allows Houston to win 100-99we will also remember the contrast between his first half at 4 points and 1 out of 6 on shots, and the second at 29 points at 7 out of 12 on shots… On arrival, 33 points and the winning shot!
“I just stayed calm,” says Smith. “In the first half, I took the pulse of the game. I never really panicked. I never felt any pressure. I felt much calmer. Last year, if I had started a half like that, I probably wouldn’t have achieved a second like this. »
On the Portland side, Scoot Henderson had made a great start to the match, before falling into line, then getting injured. He finished with 15 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds on 5 of 13 shooting in 21 minutes. At his side Rayan Rupert draws a blank in 14 minutes.
In Houston, Amen Thompson was good with 16 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds and 3 steals. But like Henderson, he was out injured, with a bad ankle sprain after a bad reception.
