Amanda Loman/Associated Press
Amanda Loman/Associated Press
Amanda Loman/Associated Press
Amanda Loman/Associated Press
Amanda Loman/Associated Press
Amanda Loman/Associated Press
Amanda Loman/Associated Press
Amanda Loman/Associated Press
Amanda Loman/Associated Press
Amanda Loman/Associated Press
Amanda Loman/Associated Press
Amanda Loman/Associated Press
Amanda Loman/Associated Press
Amanda Loman/Associated Press
Amanda Loman/Associated Press
Amanda Loman/Associated Press
Amanda Loman/Associated Press
Amanda Loman/Associated Press
PORTLAND, Ore. — The Houston Rockets’ win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday night was like looking into a time machine, with the Blazers in the beginning stages of a painful rebuild the Rockets recalled all too well.
Two seasons ago, the Rockets were languishing at the bottom of the NBA standings and hoping the next phase of their plan would be easier to stomach. In coach Ime Udoka’s first season, Houston added key veterans and nearly captured a play-in spot. In his second season, the Rockets are the surprise No. 2 team of the Western Conference.
The Rockets’ 125-103 victory on Saturday improved their record to 28-13 exactly halfway through the season and served as a reminder of how far Houston has come.
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Udoka’s assessment of the season’s first half was customarily direct.
“Good, but we want more,” he said. “We feel there’s another level we can take it to. Defensively hasn’t been great lately. I think we had some slippage there. … Offensively, we’re still finding our way. There’s some things we can improve at and we’re doing some of the benchmarks that we tried to do at the start of the season which are offensive rebounds, transition, being top of league in those categories, but can still get a lot better. And that’s really consistency. That’s a message to our team this whole year.”
The game also provided Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups with a blueprint.
“In terms of the development piece, you need a couple of guys to go up to that All-Star type of level, and obviously, (Rockets center Alperen Şengün) has done that,” Billups said pregame. “Jalen (Green) has been incredible, he’s done that, too… And then they’ve added some veteran pieces around to speed the process up as well.”
It was Şengün and Green who combined for 26 of Houston’s 36 third-quarter points and helped the Rockets turn things around after a dreadful first half.
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Green finished with 26 points to lead the Rockets. Şengün finished with 23 points and 15 rebounds and Dillon Brooks added 22 points.
“We’re going to be really good when they both are clicking on the same night,” Udoka said. “We talk about, we don’t want it to be ‘Your turn, my turn,’ and put them in specific actions together for them to kind of work together and get their chemistry down. But when they’re both going, obviously we’re much better team offensively, and that’s what happened in the third quarter.”
Scoot Henderson led Portland with 21 points and 11 assists. Toumani Camara scored 17 points.
The game was also a blast from the past because the Rockets played so poorly in the first half as the offense that had been clicking over the last few weeks momentarily regressed. But the Rockets recovered to shoot 44.4% overall and 14-of-31 on 3-pointers, their seventh consecutive game shooting 35% or better from deep.
The No. 13-seeded Trail Blazers were down two starters with Deandre Ayton and Deni Avdija out but did not roll over easily. The Rockets, who had Amen Thompson ruled out pregame with calf tightness, looked sloppy and uncontrolled for most of the first half and gave up a nine-point lead in the first quarter.
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At halftime, Houston led 51-50 and was shooting 38.6% from the field despite having a 35-22 rebounding advantage. Portland had twice as many fast-break points and 3-pointers as Houston in the first half.
Şengün took over after the break. He started the second half with back-to-back dunks and the Rockets opened on a 15-6 run after making six of their first eight shots. Four minutes in, he’d secured his 26th double-double of the season. Green shot 4-for-8 in the quarter.
“Like Ime said before, he cursed us (out) in halftime,” Şengün joked. “And we came with more energy, more aggressive on defense and offensively.”
After scoring seven fast-break points in the first half, the Rockets scored 15 in the third quarter and took a 13-point lead heading into the fourth.
Houston went 2-1 on its three-game road trip. The Rockets return home for two games before playing eight of their next nine on the road.
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Trail Blazers center Deandre Ayton and forward Deni Avdija were ruled out prior to tipoff. Forward Jerami Grant, who had been questionable, was upgraded to available for the first time in 10 games.
Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr. will not have surgery on his fractured left hand after all, coach Ime Udoka said Saturday night, a decision that shouldn’t drastically change Smith’s recovery timeframe.
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Rockets guard/forward Amen Thompson was ruled out pregame in Portland. Coach Ime Udoka said Thompson felt tightness in his left calf after the Rockets’ game in Sacramento on Thursday. It got tighter during shootaround on Saturday morning, so the Rockets decided to hold him out.
Udoka said forward Jeff Green would start in Thompson’s place.
On Saturday afternoon, Houston added guard/forward Amen Thompson to the injury report as questionable to play with left calf tightness. Thompson was at the team’s morning shootaround. He has been healthy all season and, other than sitting out back-to-back games due to a league suspension, played in 38 of the Rockets’ first 40 games.
Thompson started the season coming off the bench but has been the Rockets’ first option to fill in for injured starters. He became a permanent fixture in the starting lineup this month after forward Jabari Smith Jr. suffered a broken hand.
Portland center Deandre Ayton was a late addition to the injury report, listed as questionable to play with low back soreness. Ayton missed 10 games earlier this season because of a finger injury and an illness.
Rockets guard Fred VanVleet and forward Tari Eason were off the injury report ahead of the game against the Blazers. VanVleet missed Houston’s previous game in Sacramento for personal reasons, while Eason was initially listed as questionable before he returned from a 13-game injury absence and scored 16 points against the Kings.
Center Jock Landale (personal reasons) and forward Jabari Smith Jr. (fractured hand) remain out.
Portland forward Jerami Grant (face contusion) was upgraded to questionable to play against Houston after he missed the last nine games. Forward Deni Avdija (right ankle sprain) is listed as doubtful.
Center Donovan Clingan (left ankle sprain) and guard Matisse Thybulle (right ankle sprain) are out.
