Today, the Rockets, playing on the road, lost 129-132 to the Pacers, suffering a two-game losing streak. As a result, the Rockets improved their record to 23-27 and dropped to 12th place in the West, while the Warriors moved up to 11th place in the West.
In this game, Rockets core guard VanVleet was absent due to injury, and Amen Thompson replaced him in the starting lineup. In the first half, the Rockets played an excellent defensive performance in the second quarter, taking a seven-point lead at halftime. In the second half, the Rockets collapsed on both offensive and defensive ends in the third quarter, made a series of mistakes, and were beaten 38-24 by the Pacers in a single quarter, falling into a very passive situation.
However, the Rockets played very tenaciously in the fourth quarter, with Jalen Green scoring inside in quick succession, Thompson defended very toughly, fighting for multiple balls for the team, and Shin Kyung also used his height advantage to keep making baskets. With Green hitting a three-pointer in the final 44.6 seconds, the Rockets cut the deficit to three points. In the final moments, Haliburton stepped up and easily broke through Jeff Green to the interior and scored a layup to extend the margin to five points and essentially kill the game. In the last offense, the Rockets' Green, Smith and others missed three consecutive three-pointers, and the game lost suspense.
In the whole game, the Rockets scored 5 double-doubles, 4 of which scored 20+. Jalen Green had 30 points, 3 rebounds and 2 steals, Dillon had 23 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists, Smith had 20 points and 9 rebounds, Shin Jing had 20 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists, Thompson had 13 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 blocks, Whitmore had 9 points, and Holiday had 8 points and 5 assists.