The Rockets’ efforts rewarded
Stephen Silas having left his place on the bench, to attend a ceremony in tribute to his father in Charlotte, the Rockets also had absentees on the floor in Detroit. And not least: Jalen Green, Kevin Porter Jr. and Alperen Sengun. Or the three best scorers of the team this season.
Not the best way to approach this meeting, even against the weak Pistons in this battle of dunces. This impression was confirmed after less than four minutes of play, when Dwane Casey’s men were leading 16-4… But the players « played the game » as John Lucas, who acted on the bench, will say.
“We had to make a decision. Give up or keep fighting. We could go one way or the other. There, the players present wanted to fight, ” Tari Eason assures the Houston Chronicle. “The idea was to play hard”continues Kenyon Martin Jr.
The Rockets have indeed pulled out the muscles and won the battle for rebounds (48 to 36), with 16 offensive catches, transformed into 21 second chance points. « Get the rebounds, it was really the key to winning this game »notes Jae’Sean Tate.
Those rebounds and his extra possessions made up for the Texans’ lack of skill for much of the game. After 39 minutes, they were only 3/20 behind the arc… Then there were those five award-winning baskets in a row that felt good. But it is the rebound that is the story of this meeting, especially its end.
“98% of this success comes from work and effort”
There are forty seconds left and the Pistons are three points ahead. Kenyon Martin Jr. scores a basket with the foul. He misses the free throw, caught by Jae’Sean Tate who misses his attempt, finally saved by « KMJ » who scores a tap. Two baskets and two offensive rebounds in a few seconds to take advantage.
« We knew that players were missing and also a lot of points, everyone can see it », assures Jae’Sean Tate. “But we were excellent at raising our level. All the young people contributed to this victory. It wasn’t pretty, but we did everything necessary to win. »
A victory remains a victory and even more in Houston, the worst team in the league with only twelve small successes since the start of the season. This one is not only for Stephen Silas but also for the players who made the effort to pull it off.
« 98% of this success comes from work and effort », judge John Lucas for the AP. “Since our top three scorers weren’t there, a lot of our players were impatient because the ball would go around and they would have a chance to play. The coach has already written to congratulate us. He wasn’t there to pay tribute to his dad and hopefully the win made things a little less difficult. »
| Shots | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | bp | Int | CT | party | Points |
| Jalen Green | 48 | 34.6 | 41.1 | 33.1 | 78.0 | 0.6 | 3.6 | 4.1 | 3.7 | 2.9 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 1.7 | 21.7 |
| Kevin Porter, Jr. | 40 | 34.0 | 43.7 | 34.6 | 76.6 | 1.4 | 4.1 | 5.5 | 5.6 | 3.6 | 1.3 | 0.4 | 2.7 | 19.2 |
| Alperen Sengun | 45 | 28.0 | 57.5 | 31.3 | 74.0 | 3.3 | 5.7 | 8.9 | 3.6 | 2.4 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 3.4 | 15.5 |
| Eric Gordon | 42 | 29.8 | 42.4 | 34.4 | 81.1 | 0.3 | 1.9 | 2.1 | 2.6 | 1.6 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.9 | 12.2 |
| Jabari Smith, Jr. | 46 | 29.5 | 39.2 | 30.4 | 77.9 | 1.2 | 5.7 | 6.9 | 1.0 | 1.4 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 3.1 | 12.0 |
| Kj Martin | 49 | 25.3 | 55.4 | 33.1 | 61.3 | 1.4 | 3.9 | 5.3 | 1.4 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 1.8 | 11.2 |
| Tari Eason | 49 | 19.1 | 44.5 | 36.1 | 77.5 | 2.1 | 3.3 | 5.5 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 2.1 | 8.3 |
| Jae’sean Tate | 12 | 20.7 | 43.4 | 31.6 | 78.9 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 4.0 | 3.2 | 1.6 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 3.3 | 7.3 |
| Garrison Mathews | 42 | 13.4 | 35.4 | 34.2 | 92.9 | 0.2 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 1.3 | 4.9 |
| Bruno Fernando | 25 | 11.3 | 53.7 | 0.0 | 63.6 | 1.4 | 2.2 | 3.6 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 2.0 | 3.7 |
| Daishen Nix | 36 | 14.2 | 35.1 | 33.3 | 68.0 | 0.3 | 1.2 | 1.5 | 2.4 | 1.4 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.9 | 3.3 |
| Tyty Washington, Jr. | 16 | 12.3 | 33.3 | 15.6 | 50.0 | 0.1 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 1.2 | 3.3 |
| Josh Christopher | 31 | 8.2 | 40.2 | 13.3 | 82.4 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 3.2 |
| Trevor Hudgins | 1 | 3.8 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.0 |
| Usman Garuba | 45 | 13.7 | 51.0 | 40.9 | 52.8 | 1.8 | 2.9 | 4.7 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 1.7 | 3.0 |
| Boban Marjanovic | 16 | 4.2 | 68.0 | 0.0 | 78.6 | 0.5 | 1.1 | 1.6 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 2.8 |
