The Rockets ushered in the first game of the new year at the Toyota Center, and the opponent Heat once had 14 people in the injury list yesterday who could not play, and the scene was rare, and I thought I could take the opportunity to pinch soft persimmons. Before the game, Butler, Lowry, and Hiro announced their appearances, and the Rockets released Tate and Martin Jr. to return from isolation.
Both sides have a good start to the new year, the feel is explosive, and the offensive success rate of both teams is at a high level. You have guns and I have cannons, take turns to bombard, you come and go, it is difficult to solve. Before the first timeout, the Heat hit 87.5 percent of the shots, compared to 63.6 percent for the Rockets.
When the timeout came back, the Rockets maintained their feel on the offensive end while making adjustments on the defensive end, strengthening the defensive intensity and positioning of the interior and elbow areas to gain a lead. But the good times did not last long, after changing the rotation lineup of Shin Kyung, Tate, Brooks, Knicks, and Christopher, they suddenly muted in the connection section, could not keep up with the fire density of the Heat, and were hit by a 12:2 attack wave.
Shin Kyung also had the misfortune to sprain his ankle during a defensive block and then returned to the dressing room for inspection.
The second quarter of the Rockets' attack and defense can only be described as a piece of, it is simply rotten to the extreme, and on the first day of the new year, it gave the fans a slap. Even if it was changed to the starting lineup, it was completely useless, and it was pressed to the ground by the Heat and rubbed.
Fortunately, the second half of the state improved, so as not to collapse early. As in the previous game, when the ball was handed to Green at the end of the quarter, he once again played an explosive scoring performance, scoring seven points from inside and outside, which was more stable than before the injury.
The Rockets conceded 41 points in the first quarter, the highest points conceded in a single quarter this season, and 74 points also set a record for halftime points. The Heat's bunch of short-contract players desperately ran and defended in order to make a living, and the Rockets perfectly matched the strength and enthusiasm of the opponents, and the Heat's tenacity and hard work were the most valuable traits of the Rockets during the official winning streak.
Immediately after, the Rockets entered the second half of the pit filling stage, with the return of the state continue to chase points, three times chased to 11 points difference, but could not be surpassed. It wasn't until gordon baskets in the final quarter that he narrowed the score to within 10 points, then used opponent errors to fight back, twice forcing the score to around 6 points.
But helpless to the star's lethality at key moments, Butler can take points every key round, suppress the rocket counterattack momentum, and interrupt the rhythm of chasing points.
In the end, the Rockets lost 110:120, which was a typical "rocket-style" game of digging holes in the early stage, chasing points in the later stage to create suspense, and finally losing.
Porter Jr. is in a terrible state in this game, whether it is organization or offense, there are incredible operations, and many offensive opportunities are lost in vain, which can be called the "Class A war criminal" in this field. Wood's defensive end was still poking, and the Rockets' four chases were all done when Wood was not on the floor.
Green, who has been in good shape recently, has only 11 shots in this game, 16 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists, and the offensive stability and choice of offensive opportunities have improved significantly, and adding some shooting power may create a record of 20+ points in 3 consecutive games.
Finally, I wish all fans a Happy New Year, and may the Rockets soar into the sky as soon as possible!