The surging Houston Rockets, led by coach Ime Udoka, were on the road in Charlotte to take on the Hornets in the second half of a back-to-back. They were flying high, looking to maintain their momentum from a hard-fought win against our neighbors to the north the Toronto Raptors (114-110) on Sunday.
After a game that he struggled in personally the night before, veteran guard Fred VanVleet had a short memory and came out ready to redeem himself, guns blazing, against the Hornets. He started the game off a perfect 5-of-5 from the field, a complete 360-degree turnaround from his 1-of-10 night against Toronto.
His play, along with a dominant team defensive performance early on in the night, vaulted Houston to a 31-15 lead at the end of the first quarter.
They picked up right where they left off in the second quarter as VanVleet continued to abuse the Hornets and dominate on the offensive end while forwards Cam Whitmore and Jae’Sean Tate came into the game with a high motor on the defensive end. Amen Thompson had a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds, and Whitmore chipped in with 17 points off the bench for the Rockets. They led by 34 in the second half after getting a workmen’s-like performance from their young corps of players.
On the other hand, the Hornets, who are falling off a cliff fast with no safe landing spot in sight, shot dismal 2 of 20 from beyond the arc in the first half which made first year coach Charles Lee pull his hair out. Part of that was Houston’s lockdown defense, but mostly it was the Hornets simply failing to knock down open shots.
Miles Bridges scored 24 points and LaMelo Ball added 23 for the Hornets, who have dropped 13 of their last 14 games. The fans are already looking forward to a high lottery pick in June’s draft.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Rockets held the Hornets to miniscule 31 points at the end of the half, and were able to nearly double their lead in the second quarter, holding a 31-point edge through the halfway mark.
That commanding lead proved to be too much to overcome for Charlotte as they had no answer for Houston’s defense in the second half. The Rockets were able to hold on to their huge lead thanks to a red-hot night from VanVleet, posting a 114-101 win over the Hornets.
VanVleet was the hero of the night for Houston after not being able to buy a bucket against his former team the Raptors, he won a championship with in 2019. The veteran guard ended Monday night’s matchup with 20 points on 50% shooting from the field, 8-for-16.
Lengthy forward Jabari Smith Jr. also had a good night overall. He struggled a little early in the first quarter, but picked it up as the game went on and found his rhythm. Smith Jr. finished with 21 points and corralled 11 rebounds.
The Rockets will now turn their attention to the New Orleans Pelicans, who they will face on Thursday night at Smoothie King Center.
The Hornets travel to Washington to take on Jordan Poole and the Wizards on Thursday.
