Rockets upend NBA-leading Cavaliers, taking win in final seconds

Ashley Landis/Associated Press

Even as the Houston Rockets’ offense dramatically improved over the last nine games, coach Ime Udoka wondered whether his team was losing sight of its identity ahead of Wednesday’s home game against the NBA’s No. 1 Cleveland Cavaliers.

“We want to get back to who we are,” Udoka said. “Not just trying to go score for score, get stops when we can. … Sometimes, just game by game, if it’s flowing a little too easily you forget what makes you successful. And that’s what we kind of hang our hat on there. And so knowing if we guard the way we’re capable of, we give ourselves a great chance every night instead of getting into shootouts.”

Cleveland entered Wednesday with the league’s best road record and the No. 1 rated offense. The Cavs average 122 points per game, shoot 49.8% from the field, score 39.8% of their points behind the arc and play at the sixth-fastest pace.

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In short, Cleveland is not the team to challenge to a shootout.

But after a slew of second-half turnovers by the Rockets saw them relinquish a 13-point fourth quarter lead, the Rockets went toe-to-toe and grinded out a 109-108 win over the Cavaliers at Toyota Center, just the seventh loss for Cleveland this season and fifth on the road.

Houston center Alperen Şengün, asked whether the Rockets took pride in beating the team with the NBA’s best record, gave an answer that showed how high internal expectations are in their locker room.

“I mean, we’re second in the West,” Şengün said. “They had the best record, but we didn’t care about that, you know? And then we just went over there, played aggressive. The last game wasn’t looking good for us, but we came to play today and we did a pretty good job.”

Şengün made two clutch free throws to give the Rockets a two-point lead with 4.5 seconds to go, after he and Fred VanVleet each made game-tying shots in the last three minutes.

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Rockets forward Tari Eason fouled Cavs guard Darius Garland on a 3-point shot right after that, giving Garland three free throws and the Cavs the ball. But Garland missed two of his shots and his backcourt partner Donovan Mitchell missed a last-ditch 3-pointer, sending Eason running into the tunnel wagging his finger.

“Someone asked me (before the season) if I thought that we were gonna be one of the better teams in the league and I said, ‘Obviously. If I don’t believe it, why would y’all?’” Eason said. “So, I mean, I’ve always believed that. Since the moment I got here, my goals and sights were always to be one of the best teams, the best team, win a championship here.”

Jalen Green, who averaged 28.7 points for Houston in 10 previous games played this month, scored just two points in the first half and eight in the second half.

The Rockets found other solutions to score. Şengün, who said after the game that he is having “little issues” with his shoulder, repeatedly bullied his way into the paint against Cleveland center Jarrett Allen. Amen Thompson lurked in the dunker spot. Cam Whitmore, Eason and VanVleet made the 3-point line their hunting ground.

“In the past, we probably wouldn’t survive a night of some guys being a little bit off,” Udoka said. “I think Amen and Tari and guys being healthy, Steven (Adams) and what he provides in his own way, obviously aids our offense.”

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The Rockets shot 46% in the paint and 44.4% behind the arc on a balanced night for the offense. But Cleveland scored 33 points off 22 Houston turnovers, the most by a Rockets opponent all season.

VanVleet said the Rockets need to clean up their execution before they play the Cavs again Saturday in Cleveland.

“I know I definitely had some uncharacteristic ones, was a little sloppy at times, but that team has the best record in the NBA for a reason,” VanVleet said. “So I know that their offense gets a lot of credit and attention, but they do some funky things defensively. They got active hands. Guys switching and peeling back in the zone kind of changed the momentum and rhythm a little bit.”

VanVleet led Houston with 26 points and seven 3s. Şengün had 18 points and 11 rebounds. Thompson had a double-double as well with 16 points and 16 rebounds.

Garland led Cleveland in scoring with 26 points while Mitchell added 19.

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The Cavs flexed their 3-point shooting early, making three of their first four shots from behind the arc. But the Rockets amped up their presence on the glass and responded with shooting of their own. The Rockets once trailed by nine points but came back to lead by seven thanks to 10 points off the bench from Whitmore. Houston scored 13 second-chance points on eight offensive rebounds.

Cleveland started the second quarter on an 8-0 run but Houston went back to its identity of rebounding and transition scoring and outscored the Cavs 22-21 in the quarter to take a 61-53 lead at halftime.

Although the Rockets maintained an 11-point lead to the end of the third quarter, sloppiness threatened to undercut them. The Rockets were shooting 50.7% and holding the Cavs to 41.9% from the field (Cleveland averaged 49.8%), but turnovers made it difficult for Houston to pull away.

Early in the fourth quarter, the Rockets pushed their lead to a game-high 13 points. But they were outscored 14-4 in the first six minutes of the quarter as Şengün waited to check back in. With five minutes remaining in the game, Cleveland took its first lead since the opening quarter on a Garland layup and prompted an all-out fight to the finish.

“Shows how resilient this team is, and just that we’re good, but we can keep getting better,” Eason said.

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The Rockets are 9-6 in games decided by five or fewer points this season, which includes seven of their past 13 games.

“I think we’re past that point of panicking and not knowing what to do in certain situations,” VanVleet said. “Now, whether we execute at the level we need to or not, it’s been hit or miss as of late. So we definitely mixed up some things and kind of didn’t execute perfectly, but you just got to find ways to win. It’s a long season, lot of ups and downs throughout games and weeks and months. And we’ll take this one and move on to the next.”

Cavs guard Caris LeVert (right wrist sprain) was downgraded from questionable to out an hour before tipoff on Wednesday, leaving the Cavs without three rotation players against the Rockets. It was the second consecutive game LeVert missed, and the third consecutive missed game for both Evan Mobley and Isaac Okoro.

Cleveland center Evan Mobley (right calf strain) and forward Isaac Okoro (right shoulder sprain) are listed as out for the game in Houston. Guard Caris LeVert (right wrist sprain) is questionable to play.

The Rockets’ initial injury report contained only forward Jabari Smith Jr., who has been out since Jan. 3 with a fractured left hand.

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Rockets upend NBA-leading Cavaliers, taking win in final seconds

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