Rockets Enter All-Star Break on Seven Game Winning Streak
The NBA’s Southwest division will be a dogfight for the last 30 games of the regular season following the All-Star. Just six games separate the top three teams with the San Antonio Spurs sitting in first with a 38-15 record, followed by the Houston Rockets at 36-17 and the Dallas Mavericks at 32-22.
Houston is currently the hottest team in the division having won 7 straight and 8 of 10, after they defeated the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night 113-112. The Rockets now enter the All-Star break just 2 games behind the Spurs.
Despite having the highest number of turnovers for the season on Wednesday night, an injured point guard and facing a scrappy Washington team the Rockets managed to pull out a win thanks to James Harden’s late game heroics.
The Rockets now can rest until Wednesday February 19 when they face the Los Angeles Lakers at the Staples Center in LA.
Pat Beverley sat out the game for Houston due to a strained abdomen. He is expected back for the game on Wednesday with the Lakers.
The Rockets have been known to let huge leads slip away and Wednesday night was no exception. Houston was up by as many as 19 points during the third quarter but Washington rallied and with four seconds remaining, took a lead of two points.
However, Harden wanted to give Houston’s capacity crowd one more thing to cheer about and drew a foul off the play prior to the ball being inbounded.
Harden received a single foul shot and Houston retained possession. Harden hit the foul shot and then received the inbounds pass, drove the lane and easily scored with just under a second left.
Harden finished the game with 35 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists. The sharpshooter also hit 16 for 16 from the charity stripe.
Houston however must learn to sustain a lead when they have one during the second half. At one point, the Rockets were ahead by 19 points after halftime, but Washington whittled that to just 3 after three quarters.
Turnovers are what hurt Houston the most. The Rockets finished the game with 26 turnovers, which was their high for the season. The team is lucky to have escaped with the win.
Head Coach Kevin McHale said he was amazed at the number of turnovers his team committed. He could not believe the team could win while committing 26 turnovers on the night.
Dwight Howard, who is joining Harden for the All-Star game, had 24 points and grabbed 16 rebounds, while Chandler Parson had 18 points and 12 boards.
Houston enters the break on a roll with 7 consecutive wins. Following the break, the Rockets face a five-game road trip. Houston will not return home until they face Detroit on March 1.
With Houston finally gelling as a team and San Antonio rocked with injuries and old legs, the Rockets could overtake the Spurs during the last 30 games of the regular season giving them a possible home court advantage during the postseason.
