Rockets Locked into 5th Place After Blowing Golden Opportunity at Home
Edwards ignites comeback as Rockets falter late. Despite offensive fireworks, Houston’s late-game struggles resurface in a nail-biting clash.
Fans got a nice surprise on the second to last night of games this NBA season. After being in and out of the lineup, Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards started the game. While this would make things more difficult for the Rockets, I was still glad to see a competitive game.
Neither team could get much of an advantage early, as Houston held an 18-20 advantage midway through the first quarter. Durant scored 14 points and concluded the period with an assist to Amen Thompson for his second dunk of the night, but the Rockets were only up by one point. The 37-38 start wasn’t ideal considering Minnesota was still resting Rudy Gobert, Naz Reid, and Julius Randle.
Amen Thompson took advantage of this though, putting up 24 points on 10/14 shooting in the first half. Getting to the paint at will and confidently draining mid range shots was a beautiful sight to see. After 17 ties and 19 lead changes, the Rockets led 69-73 as we went to halftime.
Both teams were shooting lights out, with more than 60-percent of the shots going in so far. It’s safe to say there wasn’t much defense being played. Houston just couldn’t make a three to save their life.