For the last of the season at home, the Rockets received the Nuggets with the desire to end on a high note. It was the duel of extremes between the first of the West and the good last. But to everyone’s surprise, it was Houston who won, and with style (124-103). A landslide victory with 32 points Jalen Greenwho finished as the match’s top scorer.
“The level of pleasure was at its height” said Jalen Green after success. “We had a full house for our last home game. Before the game we were talking about how we had to show that we could end this series of home games with a win. And that’s what we’ve done. Everyone was in good shape. Everyone had good energy. Everyone played hard. And we came away with the victory”.
A group motivated by the big games
This success against the best record in the West is far from trivial, since it is only their 20th victory of the season, and Stephen Silas’ players like big bills. As proof, they hung on their board the scalp of the Bucks, Celtics, Sixers, Nuggets, Suns or even the Lakers!
“Many of our victories have been against the best teams in the NBA” pointed out Jalen Green. “It’s in these games that we play at our best level. This is encouraging for the future. When we stick together collectively, feed off each other’s energy and play hard, then we can move mountains. We competed against the best teams in the league”.
Alperen Sengen dominated Nikola Jokic!
After missing a handful of games with calf pain, Nikola Jokic was back. It was the ideal match, against the last of the West, to get back into the swing of things. But now, with “only” 14 points and 10 rebounds to his credit, and especially 8 stray bullets, the Joker produced a performance below his standards. Facing him, Alperen Sengun, a player who looks a lot like him in the game: quite slow, with a high basketball IQ, and a passing quality well above average for a pivot. To the great surprise, it was the 20-year-old Turkish youngster who won the duel against the reigning double MVP. A high-level performance with 20 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals at 7/14 shooting including 2/4 at 3-pointers.
“I did my best against him” said Alperen Sengun. “I always try to give my all against him. I was really focused today. I’m always looking forward to playing him, and it was a great game.”.
Visible progress
For a team that’s notorious for not defending, the Rockets showed just the opposite by stepping on the Nuggets in a second half where they lost 15 balls to the opposition. In the 4th quarter, Houston was even completely on fire, inflicting a 38-18 on Denver.
“There was the desire to play well, the desire to finish the season well at home, the desire to show our fans how much we appreciate them, and the desire to make stops” enjoyed Stephen Silas. “There was a lot of defensive activity. Tari Eason and Josh Christopher were in the right place. They anticipated what was to come. They made it difficult for them.”.
To crown this collective impression, seven players have reached the 10-point mark on the Rockets side, and among them the five holders. Jalen Green has thus reached the 30-point mark for the fifth time in the last ten games. Kevin Porter Jr. made his fifth straight game by at least 20 points. Alperen Sengun recorded his fourth consecutive double-double, his longest career streak. As for Jabari Smith Jr., he validates his eighth double-double in fifteen games, as many as in his first 62 games.
“It’s a credit to those guys in the locker room” said Stephen Silas. “They could have given up a long time ago, but they didn’t want to give up, let these games slip away and be on vacation already. The fact that they played so hard in the 80th game of the season speaks volumes. It means a lot to me personally, but what matters are the guys. These guys are young, but they care. They begin to understand what is important. But they’re also proud to be the Rockets. They’re proud to play in front of these fans, and they’re proud to play with each other.”.
To conclude the season, Houston will move to Charlotte and then to Washington.
