3/25 - 3/30 Rockets Games
- Jennifer Mazina
- Apr 1, 2018
- 9 min read
Updated: Apr 15, 2018
Rockets vs. Hawks
Another great performance by the Rockets for their 16th straight win at home even though it was a blowout. The Atlanta Hawks, who were currently 15th in the Eastern Conference standings, traveled to Houston on March 25th to play against the number one team in the West. Starting for the Rockets was Harden, Gordon, Capela, Tucker, and Ariza. For the Hawks, Taylor, Lee, Dedmon, Prince, and Collins. Paul, Mbah a Moute, and Anderson were all out for this game.
Hawks got tip-off but unfortunately couldn’t keep it together to score, and instead Tucker started off the game with a corner 3. The Hawks hit a 3 for their first points which tied the game 3-3, and that was the only time the score was ever tied. Gordon knocked down a 3 and Capela went for an easy layup. A foul was called on Harden with an accidental elbow on Lee, but then Harden drew a foul going for a 3 and made all 3 free throws. The Rockets were clearly dominating this game, and you could tell from early on that the Hawks didn’t have a chance. Ariza was left open for a 3 with the assist going to Harden, and during the next possession Ariza was left open again for another 3. Halfway through the quarter and the Rockets were on an 8-0 run until the Hawks finally scored with a long 2. With an alley-oop from Harden to Capela, Harden already had 5 assists. Nenê came into the game after being out for a few games and quickly scored followed by Harden walking a score right in the basket. Ariza hit yet another 3 and he was 4/5, and the Rockets were scoring 50%. An offensive foul was called on Harden with one second left in the quarter from what looked like a step on the foot of a Hawks player. The Rockets took a quick lead of 33-20.
The Hawks made a 3, Green hit his first 3, and following that Tucker put it up and in for a 3 with the biggest lead of the night with 16 points. When Green gets going, he gets going because he hit another super quick 3 which took it to a 21-point lead. Johnson hit a 3. Taylor, a Hawks player, I’d say did an incredible job trying to keep them in the game with 12 points in eleven minutes but no matter what any of them did, it wasn’t enough. At this point the Hawks hadn’t even been to the free throw line yet, but a defensive three second violation was called on Capela so the Hawks shot a free throw. Johnson hit another 3 followed by Gordon with a 3 for their 12th made 3 of the night. Harden had 12 assists so far, and Capela with a tip right at the buzzer, scored for the Rockets with a lead of 69-45.
An easy basket for the Hawks started off the third quarter, and right after that Ariza went for a 3 but the ball got stuck just like it did the night before with Anderson. Capela blocked the ball, then Gordon shot a 3, Ariza picked up his second foul because of pushing, and it was still a 20-point game. Unfortunately, an offensive goal tend was called because the ball was over the rim when Harden passed to Capela, so the points didn’t count. Dedmon got a nice block and the Rockets missed, but later on when Harden was just playing around, he made a corner 3. A backdoor pass to Harden for a monstrous dunk made the crowd go wild! Prince hit a nice 3, and a nice pass to Green for a score. Harden got another dunk, then was tripped by Magette, and made both free throws. With eight seconds left, Green hit a 3 followed by the Hawks hitting a 3 right at the buzzer, but the Rockets still had a tremendous lead of 94-74. Harden had 18 points, 15 assists, and 10 rebounds for his 4th triple double this season and his 35th throughout his career, and he took a seat on the bench for the rest of the game.
Gordon scored the first 2 points of the fourth quarter, and he had 15 points thus far. The Hawks had managed to get quite a few layups which the Rockets don’t normally allow. Green knocked down a quick 3 followed by yet another 3. Once he starts making shots they just keep coming. Gordon hit a 3 as well and he was 4/9. The Rockets brought in bench players Zhou and Hunter who don’t normally play, and Johnson, Black and Green stayed in the game with three minutes left and a significant lead for the Rockets. Zhou managed to score, but Hunter missed his 3 opportunity. Green had 25 points which was incredible! The Rockets win yet again 118-99 for their 60th this season.
Rockets vs. Bulls
Major blowout alert!! On March 27th, the Chicago Bulls, who were currently 12th in the Eastern Conference, tried their best, but the Rockets are just unstoppable. The Rockets are now on their third double digit winning streak of the season with 10 straight wins. Paul was finally back in, but Capela and Harden were both out on rest, and Mbah a Moute was still out because of his left knee. Starting for the Rockets was Paul, Gordon, Nenê, Tucker, and Ariza. For the Bulls, Payne, Nwaba, Felicio, Markkanen, and Holiday.
The game started with an illegal defense on the Rockets, and the Bulls shot a free throw but missed it and had three rebounds in a row until they scored a 2. Gordon shot the first 3 of the night for the Rockets, and the next possession Paul hit a 3 as well. Nenê got the offensive rebound and Ariza hit a 3. Tucker hit his first corner 3 taking the lead for the Rockets by 9. Markkanen hit a 3 which took it to only a 2-point game. Although, that was the last time the game was remotely close, and just like that, the Rockets took the lead back to 8 when Ariza hit a corner 3. Following that, Gordon hit a super deep 3. The Rockets led 31-23 with only one turnover while the Bulls had 5 already.
Anderson pulled the trigger and made his first 3 of the night, and the Bulls didn’t seem to be guarding the 3-point line very well considering how easily/many 3s the Rockets had already made. Paul went for a shot, lost the ball, got it back, then lost it again, and managed to get it back again as well. Although, he didn’t make the shot in the end. With over eight minutes left, the Rockets already had 6 steals. A jump ball was called with good hustle by Nenê and the Rockets got the ball, but unfortunately Paul missed the 3. Gordon knocked down another 3, and the Bulls called a timeout with a 19-point Rockets lead. 3 after 3 after 3 for the Rockets when Paul went for one, missed, Nenê got the rebound, and Gordon made the 3. Following that, Gordon went for and made another 3, and with less than a second left in the quarter, he made yet another and had 24 points in the first half.
Nenê got a dunk to start off the third quarter. The Rockets passed the ball back and forth without having the ball ever touch the floor, and with the last pass to Ariza, he hit a wide-open, corner 3. Paul hit a 3 which took it to a 27-point lead. With 8:25 left, the Rockets had 15 made 3s, and Paul had a double-double. While beating the shot clock, Tucker made a 2-point shot. Ariza got a steal and then went behind the back for a shot, drew a foul, and made both free throws. One of the camera men got destroyed by a Bulls player, and Paul went to go make sure he was okay. A great pass from Tucker allowed for Nenê to dunk a vicious dunk, and during another possession, Nenê doubled the score 83-43. If the Bulls could’ve given up at that point I’m sure they would have. Another jump ball was called and the Rockets got it again. The Bulls managed an 11-0 run in the past two plus minutes with 1:35 left, but Paul shot free throws to end that. The Rockets led 87-57.
Green scored a 2-point shot to start off the fourth quarter. Gordon hit a 3 from way, way back, and the next possession, he went for another and it just fell right in. Gordon was 8 of 13 in 3s and had 31 points with ten minutes left. Hunter and Zhou from g-league checked in. Black with a monstrous, one-handed dunk. Zhou with his 7’8 wingspan, blocked a Bulls shot and Hunter had the chance to steal the ball, but neither of them were able to score. The Rockets won their 17th home game in a row 118-86.
Rockets vs. Suns
Oh my god was this game insane, but thank you Gerald Green! I think the reason the Rockets were behind most of the game was because they weren’t too motivated by this game, and didn’t have a lot of energy because the Suns just weren’t that great. The Phoenix Suns traveled to Houston on March 30th for another home game for the Rockets. The Suns were 15th in the Western Conference standings and had one of the worst records in the NBA. They sat out six players, and Paul, Gordon, and Nenê sat out for the Rockets. Starting for the Rockets was Harden, Green, Capela, Tucker, and Ariza. This was Green’s first start for the Rockets. Starting for the Suns was Ulis, Daniels, Bender, Jackson, and Chriss.
The Rockets got tip-off, but unfortunately Green missed the first 3. Both teams were missing shots and Bender, from the Suns, was the first to score two minutes into the game. There was 8:35 left in the quarter and the Rockets hadn’t scored at all until Harden made 1 of his 2 free throws. The next possession, Harden went back to the line and this time made both free throws, and the Rockets were down by 6. Tucker hit their first 3 of the night in the corner, and Mbah a Moute tied the game 15-15. Unfortunately, the Suns hit a 3 which took it to a 4-point lead. An alley-oop from Harden to Black for a powerful right-handed dunk. Towards the end of the quarter, Harden got hit on the arm and he started bleeding, so he shot 3 free throws but only made 2. With the Rockets only shooting 32%, the Suns led 25-22.
The Suns took a quick 8-point lead to start off the second quarter. Johnson scored for his first basket cutting into that lead, but Daniels hit a 3 taking it to a 9-point game. Anderson knocked down a nice 3, and Harden played defense on one end and gave Capela a wide-open layup on the other with a beautiful pass. Tucker hit another 3 and he was 3 of 4 with six minutes left. The Suns went on a 12-0 run which took their lead up to 15 up until Harden scored. Ariza stole the ball but wasn’t able to follow through with a shot, and Green was 0 of 5 at the 3-point line. The Suns led this quarter as well 57-40.
Green scored for his first play to get him going. The Rockets seemed to pull it together, but the Suns keep shooting 3s with no pressure on them and quickly took it to a 20-point lead. Tucker stole the ball, scored, and Green finally knocked down his first 3. Halfway through and it was a 7-0 run for the Rockets. Mbah a Moute hit a 3 as well, but Daniels seemed to be a challenge. He had made 7 of his 9 3-point attempts. Johnson was the savior for the Rockets ending out the third quarter. He scored a 2 and one with three minutes left, then hit a 3 which took the deficit to 13. It was a Johnson takeover! He had scored 16 points so far and the last 9 were from him. Unfortunately, the Suns still led 86-75.
Green hit a corner 3 to start the fourth quarter. With nine minutes left, it was a 10-point deficit for the Rockets. Harden missed another layup, Tucker hit a 3 which took it to an 8-point deficit, and a turnover by the Suns. This was the closest the Rockets had been since the second quarter. Another camera guy got hit, but not nearly as bad as the other night. Harden took it to a 6-point game when he made both of his free throws. A charge was called on Jackson for his 5th foul when he knocked down Tucker. Harden to the basket laid it up and in and during the next possession, he scored again taking it to a 4-point deficit. Good defense by Capela, a steal by Harden, he drew the foul, but his shot was blocked. Johnson knocked the ball out of bounds for a 24 second violation on the Suns, and the Rockets got the ball. With just under five minutes left, Tucker hit a corner 3 for his 5th and it was only a 1-point game. Ulis hit a 3 right at the buzzer and just like that it was back to 4. An alley-oop by the Suns taking the lead to 6 with just under three minutes left, but Green hit a 3 which took it back to a 3-point deficit. Harden shot and made his 2 free throws taking it to a 2-point game, but the next time he went to the line he missed both free throws. At this point it was a 4-point lead for the Suns and only a minute left. The Rockets were able to get a stop on the defensive end, and Tucker drew a foul but only made 1 of the 2 free throws. Harden stepped back and tied the game 101-101 for his first 3, but the Suns scored with 1.4 seconds left. The Rockets took a timeout and when they came back in, Ariza passed to Green in the corner for a 3 at the buzzer to win the game!! The crowd was wild! That was the Rockets 11th win in a row, and their 18th straight home win.
Comments