A week ago, the Rockets stuck 147 points to a Jazz team stuck in a series of defeats. Doing it again would have been ideal, but the evening was more complicated than expected. Two days after a big overtime victory in Oklahoma City, the Texans were not successful.
The action that best symbolizes the Rockets match occurs four minutes from the end of the match. To start, Fred VanVleet is on the verge of losing the ball. Then, Jalen Green keeps the ball with sterile dribbles. There is no movement and he sends a 3-point shot. It's a miss but Jeff Green takes the rebound. VanVleet tries his luck from afar: again he misses. Jock Landale saves the day with another rebound, but Amen Thompson is blocked on a dunk attempt.
A match snatched with teeth
It's not over. The ball is returned to the Rockets, with another miss from “FVV”, before, finally, the delivery with a 3-point shot from Jalen Green. That’s how hard it was to score a simple basket for Houston…
“It was a complicated environment, with a team that we had beaten by a lot and who surely remembered it”, comments VanVleet. “They were very present, physically. I have respect for this group, for this coach. It was a battle. We didn't have the legs for most of the evening, we couldn't get a shot. But we fought, we played together. »
Jalen Green, so hot for several days, showed it well in the first period with only four points. After the break, he scored 30 points, including this award-winning shot on this crazy sequence of several possessions and offensive rebounds.
“We kept telling him to shoot, even though it didn’t fit”continues the former Toronto player, speaking of his teammate. “He has supported us since the restart and we have confidence in him. We give him the ball in his positions and let him create the play. He can get hot. It wasn't pretty, but he stayed aggressive and gave us a boost in the third quarter. »
Word to the defense
Houston managed to get out of it by taking advantage of the 20 balls lost by Will Hardy's players and also with its 15 offensive rebounds, transformed into 25 points. “My job is to bring energy. If the shots don't go in, I go to the offensive rebound and do tap dances. These are high percentage shots”delivers Amen Thompson, 8 offensive rebounds (14 in total) to go with his 18 points.
“We relied on our defense in recent matches when the shots weren't falling. At the start of the match, it was terrible. Everyone seemed slow to start, had difficulty reacting,” notes Ime Udoka. “Until Jalen and VanVleet stepped up in the second period, we were in a tough situation. But we were aggressive and the guys went for the offensive rebound. »
The slope will become increasingly steep for Houston, now on eleven wins in a row, with matches against Dallas and Minnesota, Sunday and Tuesday. Before a major shock in the race for the “play-in” against the Warriors, Thursday evening, since the Californians currently only have one victory ahead of the Texans…
