The Rockets won by 26 points! Shen Jing scored 22 points and 15 boards, Smith broke out, and the White Devils performed amazingly
On December 23, Beijing time, the NBA regular season continued, and the Rockets hosted the Mavericks. Previously, the Rockets had a record of 13 wins and 12 losses, and a wave of 3 consecutive defeats also allowed them to be opened up by the second group in front, and behind the Rockets, there are three championship giants of the Suns, Lakers, and Warriors. Compared with last season's rotten fish belly, the key element of the Rockets' rise this season is defense, and during the previous three consecutive losses (losing to the Bucks, Cavaliers and Hawks), they allowed their opponents to score an average of 132.3 points per game, and on the offensive end, Green's slump, Shin Jing's struggle, and young people are still unstable. However, the Rockets have a high home record of 11-2 this season, and their performance is still relatively good. Before this game, the Rockets recalled Whitmore from the Development League to replace Eason, who was absent due to injury.
The Mavericks previously had a 16-11 record and finished sixth in the West. Since Irving was injured in the game with the Trail Blazers, the Mavericks have 3 wins and 3 losses in the last 6 games, and Doncic has averaged 35 points, 9 rebounds and 10 assists per game in the last 12 games, and his performance is very eye-catching, but the Mavericks' overall defense is not good. Recently, the team has taken turns to fatigue, coach Kidd decided to "let go" the game directly, Doncic has a quadriceps injury and is out for a game, Levery is out with an ankle injury, Irving has been out of action with a heel contusion, Exum calf injury, plus Josh Green's elbow injury, the Mavericks almost let a starting lineup. The Mavericks' starters are: Hardaway Jr. + Hardy + Jones + Gwynn + Morris Jr.
Rockets starters: VanVleet + Jalen Green + Dillon Brooks + Jabari Smith + Shin Jing. At the beginning of the game, Big Morris took the lead in hitting a three-pointer, Shen Jing scored a layup in Europe, Brooks hit a three-pointer in the open position, Jabari Smith made a basket + Shen Jing broke through to a layup, and the Mavericks were stopped. After the timeout, Hardaway Jr. singled Green and began to score singles, Jabari Smith and Shin Jing took turns to dunk, VanVleet scored against a pull-up layup, and the Rockets opened up a double-digit point difference. In the second half, the Mavericks played a wave of 9-0 climax, Jeff Green scored a layup, and Jalen Green hit a three-pointer at the end of the quarter, and the first quarter was played, and the Rockets led the Mavericks 23-17. Shin Kyung and Smith are both in good shape, while Green is still in the doldrums.
Back in the second quarter, Jabari Smith continued to fight to create kills, and Jalen Green also used a breakthrough + counterattack to lead the team to stop the Mavericks. The Mavericks bench had little ability to score, Jabari Smith and Shin Jing were on fire, but Jalen Green made two mistakes in three consecutive rounds of strong attacks, allowing the Mavericks to chase 4 points. The Rockets took the initiative to call a timeout, VanVleet regained control of the ball, Shin Jing made a basket, VanVleet and Jabari Smith made a kill, and Aaron Holiday's three-point shot, the Rockets widened the gap again. At the end of the quarter, Hardaway Jr. stopped the bleeding with three points, and Shin Jing immediately responded with a three-pointer.
At halftime, the Rockets led the Mavericks 56-39, with the Mavericks scoring as many as Hardaway Jr. with 13 points, Shin Jing with 20 points and 10 rebounds at halftime, and Smith with 14 points. At the beginning of the second half, Jalen Green hit a three-pointer, Jabari Smith jumped to the basket, and Jalen Green opened his hand and blossomed inside and out, and the difference had reached 24 points. In the middle of the game, VanVleet and Jabari Smith rained three-pointers, and the difference exceeded 30, the Mavericks had no intention of fighting, the team's singles and strong shots were basically playing iron, and the key rebounds could not grab the Rockets. In the second half, Brooks continued to shoot a three-pointer, Shen Jing Jinji scored an independent jumper, Jalen Green made a kill, and the Rockets have opened a 38-point difference!
After the Mavericks called a timeout, they directly switched to the third lineup, and the Rockets, including Whitmore and Thompson, also got playing time, and after the third quarter, the Rockets led the Mavericks 89-60. The fourth quarter was completely reduced to garbage time, Whitmore received the ball and hit a three-pointer, and then the basket picked up the leak and smashed the dunk directly, and the Mavericks' third team directly gave up the confrontation. Hinton continued to feed Whitmore in the middle of the game, and Whitmore finally had a chance to show his talent as he took off from the free-throw line and caught his back dunk. The final score was fixed at 122-96, and the Rockets won by 26 points, ending a three-game losing streak while sending the Mavericks to a three-game losing streak.
Mavericks stats, Hardaway Jr. 16 points, Prosbo 20 points and 6 rebounds, Holmes 16 points and 8 rebounds, Dennis 18 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Rocket statistics, VanVleet 10 points and 4 assists, Jalen Green 17 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists, Shin Jing 22 points and 15 rebounds, Jabari Smith 21 points and 8 rebounds, Brooks 10 points and 3 rebounds, Whitmore 14 points, 4 rebounds and 2 steals. A hearty victory, hoping that this game will be a turning point for the Rockets to continue to attack the top six in the West, and it is time for Jalen Green to prove his true strength as a leader.