J-Speaks: First Struggles in "Clutch City"

With 14 wins in a row, things were looking pretty good for the Houston Rockets to start the 2017-18 NBA campaign this season. They had not lost since they got lead guard Chris Paul back from injury in the middle of November, they had the makeup of a team that was going to challenge the defending champion Golden State Warriors. The question was what would happen when this team hit some major? 

Despite 51 points from their star, and leading MVP candidate James Harden, the Rockets had their winning streak snapped with a 122-116 loss versus the Los Angeles Lakers (11-25). 

Two nights later versus L.A.’s other team the Clippers (16-19), the Rockets had another 51-point explosion from Harden, but lost their second in succession 128-118. 

That was followed by three more losses by the boys from “Clutch City,” which extended their losing streak to five games, their longest skid since dropping seven games in a row from Jan. 9-19, 2013. 

The Rockets put a conclusion to their losing streak with a hard fought 148-142 double overtime versus those same Lakers on Sunday night to close out 2017. 

James had another spectacular performance with 40 points, 11 assists, and two blocks, but left late in the fourth quarter due to a left hamstring strain. 

“I don’t think we’ll know until tomorrow,” Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni said in his press conference after the game about Harden’s injury. “We’ll figure it out.”

A report out on today has Harden on the shelf for at least two weeks because of a strain to that hamstring.  

The Rockets pulled one out of the fire because of Paul, who had 15 of his 28 points on the night in the two overtimes. The perennial All-Star also had 10 assists, and six rebounds. 

“We lost our horse,” Paul, who had his sixth double-double on the years, playing a season-high 42 minutes versus the Lakers said to AT&T Sportsnet South West’s Bart Enis. “James was carrying us all game long. Might have pulled, or strained his hamstring, and we just knew. I’ve been here before. 

Paul went on to say, “I ain’t new to this. Guys had to step up a little bit with James out. We’re going to make sure he’s all right, but we cool.” 

That is very different from where the Rockets were just a few games ago where they seemed to commit every single act you could to have things go in the wrong direction. 

In their loss versus the Lakers back on Dec. 20, 2017, the Lakers dominated the Rockets outscoring them in the first quarter 37-22; in the third period 31-30; and in the fourth 28-27. 

Rookie Kyle Kuzma had a career-high 38 points, going 12 for 17 from the field, including 7 for 10 from three-point range. The Lakers as a team shot 47.1 percent from the field, and went 15 for 35 from three-point range. They out-rebounded the Rockets 62-59; had 27 assists to the Rockets 19; and scored 25 points off 15 Rocket turnovers.   

To make matters worse, Paul who had just eight points on the evening left the game early in the fourth quarter with a sore left leg. 

It did not get any better two nights later in the loss versus the Clippers, who outscored the Rockets 35-20 in the third quarter; and 41-33 in the fourth quarter to win by 10. The star of the night was head coach Glenn “Doc” Rivers son Austin, who had a career-high36 points, going 11 for 25 from the field, including 6 for 15 from three-point range. 

Lou Williams was also a factor with 32 points off the bench, hitting 10 of his 21 shots, which consisted of 7 for 11 from long distance. Rookie Jawun Evans also had 15 points off the bench hitting three triples, and center DeAndre Jordan had 15 points, and 20 rebounds. 

The Clippers shot 47.3 percent from the field on the night; hit 18 for 42 from three-point range; had 24 assists to the Rockets 16; and scored 18 points off 18 Rockets’ turnovers. 

In their 2017 Christmas Day tilt at the Oklahoma City Thunder (20-17), the Rockets managed just 19 points in the final quarter as they lost 112-107. 

Reigning league MVP from last season Russell Westbrook had 31 points, and 11 assists to lead the Thunder. Paul George chipped in with 24 points, and Carmelo Anthony had 20 for the Thunder in their fifth win in succession, and their 11^th victory in their last 14 chances. 

Harden led all five starters in double figures with 29 points, 14 assists, and eight boards, but was just 7 for 18 from the field, including 3 for 11 from three-point land. Eric Gordon, and Trevor Ariza had 20 points each. Starting center Clint Capela had 19 points, and 10 rebounds, and Ryan Anderson had 11 points.  

The most hurtful loss of their five-game skid came at the Boston Celtics (30-10) last Thursday night, when the Rockets blew a 26-point lead, and fell 99-98 when All-Star Al Horford nailed a hook shot with 03.7 left to give the C’s the lead, and the win. 

The Celtics got that chance because of guard Marcus Smart drawing two offensive fouls in the final 10 seconds of the contest on Harden, who had 34 points, and 10 assists that got the Celtics the ball back. 

The first charge came after Smart scored a layup to pull the C’s to within a 96-95 count with 13.5 seconds left. After two free throws by Harden off an inbounds foul, rookie Jayson Tatum scored another layup to pull the C’s to within one. Smart took the first charge by Harden on the inbounds. 

That ending though came about because the Rockets were outscored 31-16 in the third quarter, with 12 points coming from All-Star Kyrie Irving, and 30-20 in the fourth quarter. 

The Rockets followed that up with a 121-103 defeat at the Washington Wizards (21-16) on Friday night. 

The Wizards in garnering their 11^th victory against a team over .500 this season hit a franchise record 18 triples in 36 attempts, and shot 53.4 percent from the floor overall. 

They out-rebounded the Rockets 55-43; registered 35 assists; scored 19 points off 14 Rockets miscues; and had 19 fast break points to the Rockets eight. 

Otto Porter, Jr. scored 26 points, hitting 7 for 11 from distance, with 6 rebounds, seven assists, and two steals. Bradley Beal, and Kelly Oubre, Jr. each scored 21 points, and John Wall had 17 points, and five steals. 

Harden managed just 20 points, giving him 20 points or more in every game this season. Gerald Green, the latest addition to the Rockets had 18 points off the bench, hitting 4 for 6 from distance. Eric Gordon had 16 points, and backup center Tarik Black had 10 points, and 12 rebounds. Paul, who returned from a three-game absence from that strained groined he hurt versus the Lakers had just eight points, and six assists in 26 minutes. 

To put the Rockets five-game losing streak into perspective, they surrendered on average 116.4 points on 49.4 percent from the floor, while scoring 108.4 points, on a dismal 42.1 percent from the floor. In their prior 21 games, where they lost just once, they were scoring an average of 119.5 point; hit 48.4 percent of their shots; held their opponents to 104.3 points, on 46.3 percent shooting. 

It also did not help that Capela was on the mend in four of these five setbacks because of an orbital fracture. That was 14.1 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks not available. The Rockets have also been without another key cog in Luc Mbah a Moute since Dec. 13, 2017 because of a right shoulder injury he sustained in the team’s 108-96 victory versus the Charlotte Hornets (13-23). 

While they were able to pull one out against the Lakers on Sunday night, their struggles on the defensive end continued. The Lakers shot 50.5 percent from the floor; out-rebounded the Rockets 69-58; had 31 assists; outscored the Rockets in the paint 82-58 and held the Rockets to two fast break points. 

Julius Randle was dominant for the Lakers with season-highs 29 points, 15 rebounds, and six assists before fouling out in the first overtime. Rookie Josh Hart had a career-high of 26 points, along with six boards. Kuzma had 23 points, and former Rocket Tyler Ennis had 20 points, 11 assists, and two steals. 

The Rockets in this contest though made all the key plays to win the game. Black blocked Kuzma’s shot attempt at the basket to get the ball back for the Rockets. P.J. Tucker scored off a Paul miss to score his only basket of the night, but it put the Rockets ahead for good in the second overtime. 

Tucker blocked a Kuzma three-point attempt moments later, and Paul connected on two more free throws to put the Rockets ahead 146-142 in the second overtime. 

“Enough was enough. All the losing we’ve been doing. We stepped up. This was a big win for us,” Paul, who helped the Rockets improve to 14-0 when he plays 26 minutes or more said to Enis. 

This game also highlighted the reason the Rockets traded for Paul back in the off-season. If this were last year, and the Rockets lost Harden for whatever the reason, the losing streak would have continued. 

With another proven star in Paul, who mentioned to Ennis, being in the clutch is home for him. That provided confidence for the rest of the Rockets were able to get the job done against the Lakers. 

“He just willed us to win, and great players can do that” D’Antoni, whose team had nine block shots, seven steals, and scored 24 points off 16 Laker turnovers said after the win. “If you were there, certain guys can just say, ‘We’re not losing, and whatever it takes,’ and that’s what he said tonight, and that’s what he did.”

Even with a star-studded backcourt, and an offensive attack that can light teams up from three-point range, what has made the Rockets a serious contender to give the Warriors something to think about is the fact that they have played at a high level on both ends of the floor, and that they played with a level of intelligence, and focus. That was missing during their five-game skid, and the hope is that they will bring that focus, determination, and will to be great from this point on, especially with Harden on the mend for at least 14 days. 

“If we don’t play hard, we’re never okay,” D’Antoni said. “I hope we learned a lesson. I don’t know. These guys played a great second half in the sense of the toughness, and all that. So, hopefully we learned it, and we’ll go forward. If we did, I’m glad it happened. If we don’t, then we need to kick ourselves right in the rear.” 

Information, statistics, and quotations are courtesy of 12/31/17 7 p.m. contest Los Angeles Lakers versus Houston Rockets on AT&T Sportsnet Southwest with Bill Worrell, Clyde Drexler, Matt Bullard, and Bart Enis with the postgame 12/30/17 2 a.m. edition of NBATV’s “Gametime,” presented by State Farm with Casey Stern, Steve Smith, and Brendan Haywood; 1/1/18 12 a.m. edition of NBATV’s “Gametime,” with Chris Miles, Sam Mitchell, and Brent Barry; www.espn.com/nba/team/schedule/_/name/hou/houston-rockets; www.espn.com/nba/team/stats/_/name/hou/houston-rockets; www.espn.com/nba/standing; and 12/14/17 www.espn.com story “MRI Reveals No Significant Damage in Luc Mbah a Moute’s Shoulder,” by Adrian Wojnarowski.