By Emmanuel Rivera, RRT PhilBoxing.com Tue, 27 Dec 2022
The Rockets gained traction and snapped their 5-game slide, beating the Bulls, 133-118, on Monday night in Chicago.
Kevin Porter Jr. dropped a season-high 36 points and the Rockets used a 17-1 run in the third quarter routing Chicago.
Alperan Sengun punched in 25 points and 11 rebounds, making his tenth double-double this season.
Behind Sengun and Porter, Jr., six Rockets players scored in double digits— rising Filipino-American Jalen Green dropped 24 points on 9-of-15 shooting and 6-of-10 out beyond the outer arc, as did J. Smith, Jr. for 13, E. Gordon, and off the bench, K.J. Martin added 10 points.
As a team, Houston made 55-of-90 baskets (55.6% FG) and 17-of-44 treys (38.6% 3-PT), outrebounded the Bulls 45-35 and scored more in the paint, 60-44. Their largest lead was 19 points with a 17-1 run in the third quarter to beat the Bulls emphatically.
On the other hand, as a team, Chicago made 45-of-92 baskets and 13-of-35 treys (36.1% 3-PT), and briefly led by 7 points.
DeMar DeRozan led Chicago with 31 points and passed George Gervin for 44th on the All-Time NBA scoring list. Zach LaVine poured in 22 points, P. Williams 12, E. Gordon 12, and N. Vucevic 10.
“We have a competitive group, probably tired of losing, disappointed with how we finished the homestand, and we have a group of good guys who did the right things,” Rockets coach Stephen Silas was quoted on NBA.com
Upcoming:
Houston Rockets (10-23): Visit Boston Celtics on Tuesday.
Chicago Bulls: Host Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday.
Note of appreciation:
The photos, stats and video in this article are courtesy of the NBA and brought to you by PhilBoxing.com
