The Houston Rockets fell to the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night in a close battle that came down to the wire. Following a Kevin Durant miss, Tari Eason had a successful tip-in. However, following
an officials’ review, the play was reversed as being after the buzzer, and the win was given to Portland. Here’s the finish:
The Rockets once again played without Alperen Sengun, but Kevin Durant led the way with 37 points in 37 minutes. Tari Eason pitched in 15 points and 13 rebounds, while Amen Thompson had 24 points, 12 rebounds, and 6 assists.
Jabari Smith threw up a 2-for-13 stinker, however, and the Rockets received just 13 total bench points from five players, including 8 from Reed Sheppard. That’s simply not going to get it done. The Rockets shot just 37 percent as a team, and they were just 8-for-36 from three-point range.
The Trail Blazers spit out another in a long line of Rando Rocket Killers (thanks, Xiane), as Deni Avdija went off for 41 points. He’s been having a great year, so it’s not totally Rando, but Portland always seems to have someone who loves going off on the Rockets. Shaedon Sharpe also had 20 points for Portland to help lead the way.
The Rockets were down in this game to start, but battled back before the unceremonous finish to this one, but they fall to 22-12 anyway. They now fall to the sixth spot in the Western Conference, just 1.5 games ahead of Durant’s old team, the Phoenix Suns. Slip down to seventh, and suddenly the Rockets are Play-In team. Yikes.
The Rockets are off Thursday, but they will be back in action on Friday night against these very same Trail Blazers. The game will once again be in Portland, and the Rockets will be looking for some revenge.
