Doncic hit 41+9+9!The Rockets missed the top 8, Shen Jing 31+9 was difficult to save, and Dillon did his best with 6 fouls
In the NBA Midseason Championship, the Rockets lost 115-121 to the Mavericks on the road, and the team missed the quarterfinals, while the Pelicans won the only promotion spot in this group with a 3-1 record. In this game, Shen Jing got 31 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists, Dillon scored 16 points, and 6 fouls in the game were considered to be his best, Smith had 16 points and 9 rebounds, and VanVleet had 10 points and 12 assists. Doncic contributed 41 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists, and Irving scored 27 points.
As long as the Rockets win this game, then the team can advance to the top 8, and the whole team is working hard to play this game, but in the first quarter, the Rockets' offense was blocked, Shen Jing was 1 of 6 in a single quarter, Jalen Green was 1 of 6, and the two offensive cores frequently hit iron, which also caused the team to fall behind the Mavericks by 7 points in the first quarter.
In the second quarter of the game, the Rockets' offense rebounded slightly, Shen Jing entered his own rhythm, and continued to attack under the basket, and frequently caused fouls by Mavericks players, with 11 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists in a single quarter, and Jalen Green also scored 5 points, and the team scored 28 points in a single quarter and recovered 3 points. At the end of the half, the Rockets were only four points behind, and the game still had to be played.
In the third quarter of the game, the Rockets were all soldiers, VanVleet and Jalen Green combined for 10 points and 6 assists, Shen Jing, Dillon and Smith scored 16 points, and the team exploded 38 points in this quarter, outscoring the Mavericks by 10 points. At the end of the third quarter, the Rockets took a six-point lead and regained the initiative in the game.
However, in the final quarter of the game, the Rockets once again fell into iron mode, and no player on the team could stand up, while on the Mavericks' side, Doncic and Irving continued to make efforts, and they combined to score 15 points in the first 10 minutes, helping the Mavericks overtake the Rockets by 5 points. At the critical moment, Shen Jing scored 5 points in a row, Irving scored two free throws, Smith forced a three-point shot and then hit it, while Jones dodged the Rockets' defense and easily completed a layup, the game lost suspense, and finally the Mavericks narrowly defeated the Rockets and won the game.
Unfortunately, the Rockets did not make it to the top 8 of the tournament, but in the game against the Mavericks, the Rockets still played very well, and when they didn't shoot well in the first quarter, they quickly made adjustments and played a wave of offensive flow to overtake the score. It's just that at critical moments, the team's performance was not very consistent, and there were mistakes on the defensive end, which did not limit the play of Doncic and Irving, which also led to the team's final loss. Although the loss, but the Rockets' hard work is still worthy of recognition, the last minute of the final quarter consecutive hit the next shot, almost completed the reversal, compared to last season, the new season of the Rockets has become a completely different team, they will not be easily defeated by the opponent, even if they lose, the opponent will have to pay the price.