The Houston Rockets are on their way to signing one of the most memorable season endings in memory. Just a month ago, the Texans suffered a defeat in Phoenix that left them with a 25-34 record that placed them in 12th place in the Western Conference, 6.5 games away from the play-in positions, positions to which, After Alperen Sengun’s subsequent injury, it seemed impossible for them to arrive. 13 games later, however, Udoka’s men find themselves in a very different situation.
With this morning’s 126-132 victory in Oklahoma City, the Rockets have won 10 consecutive games and 12 in the last 13 games, a huge streak that already has them breathing down the Warriors’ necks and dreaming of a postseason berth. With confidence through the roof and performance at the highest peak of the course, everything seems to be going smoothly for them right now, and so they were in charge of proving it with a victory on one of the most complicated courses in the West.
It was not an easy victory, yes, but perhaps the suffering speaks even better about this team. Houston was able to overcome a triple by Jalen Williams with 4 seconds left that deprived them of a victory they were already cherishing and sent the match to overtime in which they showed even more resistance and in which they always led. Dillon Brooks showed his composure with two triples, Fred VanVleet helped control the tempo, and youngsters Jabari Smith Jr. and Amen Thompson added their two cents after having been fundamental throughout the night. But above all, overtime served to put the icing on the cake of Jalen Green’s stellar performance.
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JALEN GREEN AND THE ROCKETS ARE ON A MISSION 🚀🚀
Green drops 37 as the Rockets win an OT thriller to make it 10 in a row ‼️
HOU stands 1 GB of GSW for the 10th spot in the West. pic.twitter.com/x8IihTQyQe
— NBA (@NBA) March 28, 2024
The team’s excellent month of March cannot be understood without a Green for whom the word stellar falls short. With 37 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists, he continued a moment of form that no one expected at least until another season, since his performance has taken a leap in the last month that would be worthy of MIP if it had happened in the summer. Choosing better and finishing better, Jalen is undoubtedly going through the best stretch of his career, and a dream that the Rockets didn’t even know they had until very recently depends on his ability to continue it.
His third quarter, in which 17 of his goals came, kept his team alive when OKC took the lead, and in overtime he was in charge of closing the match with a triple in step back and a penetration with grinding that is more difficult for each one. Supported by the 25 points and 15 rebounds of Amen Thompson, who took center stage in the last quarter and was one of its heroes, he led his team to their 37th victory of the course, keeping alive one of the most surprising stories of this stretch final.
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It should be noted, however, that the Rockets also benefited from the absence of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, which left the Thunder somewhat lacking in artillery. This turned out, however, to be a more theoretical than practical problem given the step forward of Josh Giddey, who seems to have been regaining sensations in recent weeks and served as the leader with 31 points, while Jalen Williams supported his performance with 23 points and 10 assists. . Chet Holmgren, on the other hand, could not go beyond 2 points after playing only 18 minutes due to foul problems.
(Cover photo: Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
2024-03-28 06:40:26
#Rockets #continue #dreaming #tenth #consecutive #victory
