On January 8, Beijing time, the NBA regular season continued to unfold, and the Rockets played against the Lone Rangers at home. The Rockets defeated the Wizards in the last game, ending an 8-game losing streak, but this time they were blown up by their opponents in the first quarter, the Lone Ranger hit 7 three-pointers in the first quarter, and shot down 43 points in a single quarter to establish a 20-point lead; in the second quarter, the Rockets attacked to find their state, but the defense had no effect at all, and the Rockets fell behind the Lone Rangers 60-80 in the half.
The Rockets continued their starting lineup for the previous game, with Porter Jr., Green, Gordon, Tate and Wood, and Shinkin continuing to be absent due to injury; the Lone Rangers' two cores were unable to play, Doncic was absent due to injury, and Porzingis triggered a health and safety agreement, this time with Smith, Kleber, Powell, Bullock and Brunson.
After the game began, the Rockets took the lead in finding a feel on the outside, and Porter Jr. and Tate hit three points in succession to help the team take the lead, but then fell into a slump. The Lone Ranger rained three points, Bullock made two consecutive three-pointers, Kleber scored three-pointers, then Bullock hit two more three-pointers, the Rockets were completely confused, and the Lone Ranger's 19-2 offensive wave pulled the score apart to lead 21-8. After that, the Lone Ranger's offensive end was still hot, the Rockets defense was like a fictitious, it was easily penetrated by the opponent, and it could only watch the opponent score again and again, and with Brunson's mid-range hit, the first quarter of the game was fixed at 43-23, and the Rockets lost 20 points.
In the second quarter, Hardaway scored three points again, Tate responded with three points, and Matthews also scored three points, which also allowed the Rockets to regain their offensive touch and narrow the point difference a little. Lone Ranger Kleber's three-point shot from the outside stabilized the situation, and then took points on the inside line consecutively, pulling the point difference apart again, fortunately, Matthews hit the three-pointer again, Green also scored three points, but the defensive end of the performance was like a disaster, easily scored by the opponent, and the point difference has been around 20 points. Wood was also able to score points, but he couldn't prevent it, and after half-time, the Rockets fell behind the Lone Ranger 60-80.
The Rockets' performance on the offensive end of this game is OK, but the defensive end is really like a fake, the Lone Ranger's shooting rate in the first half is as high as 60%, and the three-point shooting rate is 54.5%. The Nets are 17-29 behind, and many times the rebounds in the backcourt watch the other side grab, is the feeling of absent-mindedness.
After the first half, the Rockets' error control was still good, only 5 turnovers, and 3 people scored in double figures, Tate 13 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists, Porter Jr. 11 points, Matthews 11 points, Green and Wood both scored 9 points (both in the second quarter).