The Rockets lost to the Bulls 119-124 in overtime, and in the case of falling behind by a large score, the Rockets dragged the game into overtime in the final quarter with the Shenjing outburst, but unfortunately LaVine completed the desperate harvest at the last moment. Udoka goes down to Tate and goes up to Whitmore, and the young man finally pays the price for his inexperience. At present, the Rockets' win rate has dropped to 50%, although it has improved from last season, but it is only barely at the playoff level, and the next Rockets schedule is not easy.
With Van Jordan at the highest salary and Dillon on the cards, the Rockets are aiming for the playoffs. It's a pity that the chemistry between the old and the new team has not been completed at the moment. The addition of Van Jordan has compressed Jalen Green's development space, and Smith has not given football rights, and is currently a blue-collar worker. Perhaps the only one with the Rockets is Shin Kyung, who has played at an All-Star level this year. But the young fire dragon still can't save the rocket.
The game process was also exciting, and the start of the game was quite smooth for the Rockets. Van Jordan came up and scored five points in a row, and Jalen Green also made a steal and counterattacked, and the Rockets started the game 7-0. But the Bulls adjusted quickly, DeRozan hit a three-pointer in the bottom corner, and then hit another three-pointer, and the Bulls began to chase points. The silent LaVine carried the firepower, and the bull directly overtook him. Then Vucevic completed the relay, and the Bulls ended the festival with another wave. Fortunately, Jalen Green made a three-pointer at the end, and the Rockets trailed 24-28 in the first quarter.
Whitmore exploded in the second quarter, he came up and scored five points in a row, Amen Thompson also completed a dragon layup, and Smith raised his hand to shoot from the outside three-pointer. The Rockets relied on the bench to overtake the Bulls, and the Bulls exploded with three points after returning from a timeout, LaVine, Kobe White, and Caruso were on fire. The Bulls led the Rockets by eight points before halftime with eight three-pointers. In the second half, the Bulls continued to feel the touch, DeRozan, Caruso came up and hit a three-pointer, LaVine scored 8 points in a row, and the Bulls stretched the difference to double digits.
The Bulls led by as many as 16 points in the final quarter, and the Rockets woke up like a dream at the moment of crisis. Shen Jing finally found his touch, he hit many low-post singles and strong bursts, the Rockets quickly chased the points, and in the last 23 seconds, the Rockets chased to 112 draws! DeRozan shot the iron, and the Rockets gave Smith a three-point shot and the two sides entered overtime. In overtime, Shen Jing came up extremely bravely, first gave the White Devil an assist and dunk, and hit 2 more goals The Rockets have a maximum lead of 5 points. But then the Rockets suddenly stopped giving Shen Jing the ball, Jalen Green missed the layup, the White Devils didn't hit either, Van Jordan didn't work, the Bulls relied on LaVine's explosion to overtake directly, and finally the Rockets were incomprehensible.
The Bulls had a poor performance off the bench throughout the game, but their starting performance was amazing, with a blast of 104+42+25. Koby White scored 30 points, LaVine had 25 points, 13 boards, 7 assists and 3 steals, DeRozan had 19 points, Vucevic had 18 points and 15 boards, and Caruso had 12 points. On the Rockets side Smith, Jalen Green and Shen Jing three new stars cut 61 + 30, Shen Jing was silent in the third quarter and finally got 25 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals did his best, Jalen Green 18 points, 8 assists and 6 boards actually performed okay, Smith 18 points and 15 boards, Van Jordan 19 7, 3 of 14 three-pointers got 20 points, 6 boards and 10 assists, Whitmore 16 points.
It can be said that the Rockets refused to return Harden in the offseason and were unwilling to give him a maximum salary, and now they finally leave a hidden danger. Because Van Jordan can't support the core role of the Rockets, just like when he was in the Raptors, the team's good forward configuration failed to make the playoffs, let alone the current Rockets? Van Jordan still has a shooting rate of less than 40% this season. If Harden were to lead this Rocket, it might be the top half of the West by now. If the Rockets didn't make the play-in tournament this year, I think Udoka would have made a big mistake by underestimating Harden's impact. Like Harden said, the Rockets configuration is actually good, and he did consider returning.