On December 24, Beijing time, the Rockets fought hard for 4 quarters on the road, and finally lost to the Pacers 106-118, with a record of 10 wins and 23 losses, which continued to rank first in the western region. In this game, the Rockets once saw the hope of winning after the first three quarters, and they achieved a rebound with a wave of attack at the end of the third quarter, but the offensive end of the fourth quarter suddenly lost power, and the opponent played a wave of 27-12 points in the single quarter. Of course, losing is nothing new for the Rockets, the most important thing is that young players can be seen through the game, and in this game, Jaylen Green, who returned from injury, played a wonderful performance and praised. But during the game, Wood's suspected dissatisfaction with Jaylen Green attracted heated discussion in the media, but his words after the game well countered the rumors of infighting.
Jaylen Green was limited by time and only played 25 minutes, but he shot 7-of-12, 6-of-9 from three-point range, and exploded for 20 points, with 1 rebound, 2 assists, 2 steals and 1 block, and the offensive and defensive ends were very eye-catching, allowing the outside world to see the potential of this talented rising star again. In an interview after the game, Jaylen Green talked about the performance of the game, he said: "It feels really good, (during the injury) I noticed a lot of things on the bench that I couldn't see on the court", Green's implication is that he watched his teammates on the field during his recovery time, which helped him make more correct choices on the field.
He then thanked Rockets assistant coach John Lucas, who said, "I'm not going to lie, following Lucas in rehabilitation has made it easier for me to play after my comeback," and Green thanked Lucas for improving his fitness, game speed and shooting skills during this period.
It can be seen that Green could not play during this time due to injury, but on the training ground, he received all-round guidance from the veteran coach Lucas, which helped him greatly. After the game, Rockets coach Silas was also full of praise when talking about Green's performance, and mentioned that he has improved in many aspects.
Silas said: "He's really good, making quick decisions on the pitch, catching shots, dribbling less, it's good, he plays efficiently, that's something we've been talking about before. I kept saying Green would be fine and he would play well. ”
It is worth mentioning that although Green performed well in this game, in the fourth quarter, there is a shot that can be seen that Wood is obviously dissatisfied with Green, after the Pacers completed the counterattack, Wood sent a sideline ball, he expressed dissatisfaction with the Jaylen Green stall hand who came to receive the ball, the expression on his face was very frustrated, and there were words in his mouth, which could not help but remind people of the last game to fight the Bucks, Wood and youngster Brooks also had a fierce quarrel on the sidelines, it seems that wood and teammates' infighting is still fermenting, This time, it was aimed at Jaylen Green, who had just returned. After the game, the image of Wood's dissatisfaction with Green also aroused heated discussion in the media, but in an interview, Wood responded to this.
Wood said: "You can't take things like this too seriously, everyone on the pitch is competing and nagging", in Wood's view, this is just part of the game, there is no need to read too much, and then he praised Green: "It's good to see him back on the field, he plays great, his hands are very hot!" ”
Perhaps Wood's boothman expressed dissatisfaction this time, just for the problem on the field, the right thing is not right, but the media is catching the wind and catching the shadow, and over-interpreting this shot.