One of the evening posters between Boston and Houston did not disappoint, quite the contrary. And in a very tight match, it was the Rockets who won the jackpot by winning the reigning champions (112-114), after having offered the Cleveland leader twice the past week!
Boston is still not complete, with the absences of Al Horford, Derrick White or Sam Hauser. This does not prevent Joe Mazzulla's team from taking the best start, with the right passage from the Kristaps Porzingis racket – Luke Kornet, tenured. The Celtics lead 9-2 then 14-5, and take advantage of their size advantage, with Kornet who comes from the head of the leaping Amen Thompson.
One of the few actions on which Thompson is not to his advantage in the first act. A cutting -edge in penetration and air with an offensive rebound, the sophomore dominates the debates. And it is accompanied by a Dillon Brooks on fire, 4/4 behind the arc to pass a 14-0 overthrow the trend, +4 Rockets at the end of the first quarter.
Payton Pritchard turned off the fire from afar and Kristaps Porzingis followed suit before flying to the Dunk tap on one of his own failures. Returning to the height, Boston fails to chain, like Jayson Tatum, Aphone in the first period with 0 point at 0/5 in shooting.
The external success of the Rockets does the rest, with Tari Eason, Dillon Brooks then Fred Vanvleet who strike from afar to spend a new 15-4 and count 11 points ahead (39-50). A quickly filled gap, raising the tone in defense at the end of the second quarter, leaving the two teams back to back to the break (52-54).
Brooks – Thompson, Duo Major
Jayson Tatum quickly finds the sights, but Dillon Brooks is irresistible opposite and equal his record of 3-point baskets registered in a match (6) … after only two minutes in the third act. Then a seventh in the process to keep Houston in mind. The debates are still more balanced during this period in a series of series. Boston spends a 7-0 in 70 seconds to go back in front? The Rockets answer them with an 8-0 with a Super Thompson. Brooks puts the cover behind the arc? Jayson Tatum, 15 points in this quarter, also draws in stride. The intensity still climbs a notch with seven leader changes.
The Celtics think they are doing the hardest by passing an 11-0 Express at the start of the fourth quarter. At 101-89 and a little less than nine minutes to play, the rockets are back to the wall, and they respond present.
Jalen Green finally finds a little going, and Amen Thompson continues his very big match, on both sides of the field, to put his family in front of the end (101-102). The “money time” is suffocating and Boston lacks the opportunities to give itself air with two possessions in advance. Dillon Brooks then Alperen Sangun put Houston in front, but Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum equalize. There are 5.3 seconds left and the word at the end returns to Amen Thompson, fantastic to the end with the Floater of Victory seven tenths from the end.
What to remember
– These rockets become very, very serious. Corrected at home at the first act in early January (86-109), the Texans signed a superb performance to take revenge, the first victory of Ime Udoka in his former house. And Houston has shown resources with an XXL Dillon Brooks tandem (36 points at 10/15 at 3-point)-Amen Thompson (33 points, career record, 9 rebounds, 4 assists). Here are the Rockets now with a better percentage of victories this season than their evening victim!
– Confirmed soft blow for the Celtics. Not helped by a limited bench, Boston failed to find the solutions to apply his game, dominated by the number of outdoor baskets taken as successful and upgraded collectively (21-29 with assists, 14-7 with lost bullets). It may be the time of a real electric shock for the reigning champions, with five victories in the last ten games “only”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyxjaegtkyg
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
How to read the stats? Min = minutes; Shots = successful shots / tempted shots; 3pts = 3-point / 3-point attempted; LF = Successful free throws / tempted free throws; O = offensive rebound; D = defensive rebound; T = total rebounds; PD = assists; FTE: Personal faults; Int = interceptions; BP = lost bullets; CT: against; +/- = Differential points when the player is on the field; Pts = points; EVAL: evaluation of the player calculated from positive actions – negative actions.
