Coming into tonight’s Emirates NBA Cup game against the Portland Trail Blazers, Kevin Durant had an NBA leading 29 consecutive 20-point games versus the franchise that could have drafted him number one
overall back in 2007. Whether or not he was aware of this before tonight, I can’t tell you. What I can tell you is he almost got his 30th consecutive 20-point game versus the Blazers all in the first quarter. Kevin was sensational again. He finished the night with 30 points in 35 minutes on the floor, shooting 12-of-19 (63.2%) and 3-of-6 from the three-point line.
In fact, every Rockets player was sensational on offense, as seven players scored in double figures, and they grabbed 20 of their 56 rebounds on the offensive end. The Rockets continue to be the NBA’s best three-point shooting team as they were 17-of-45 on Friday night against a very respectable Trail Blazers defense. The Rockets allowed the Blazers to shoot 47.2 percent from the field and 36.1 percent from three, but the difference maker in this game was the turnover differential.
The Houston Rockets only turned over the ball six times the entire game. Meanwhile, defensively they forced 20 Trail Blazer turnovers, 16 of them steals, that lead to 23 fast-break points. The Rockets were very active defensively, also blocking six shots and only allowing nine Trail Blazer fast-break points. Deni Avdija, the Blazers best offensive player, scored 22 points on 7-of-15 shooting, but was held in check throughout most of the game until the Rockets were already up big. The Blazers were able to make the game interesting briefly in the third quarter, but the lead never really felt threatened as the Rockets had an answer to each Blazer run in the second half.
Other Rockets standouts were, Jabari Smith Jr. with 22 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and a steal. Alperen Sengun was one assist away from a triple-double with 25 points, 10 rebounds, and 9 assists, and Reed Sheppard continued his hot streak of good basketball with 13 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 4 steals as his confidence continues to grow with each game. Amen Thompson added 19 points to what would be a season-high offensive output of 140 points.
The Portland Trail Blazers are no pushover team. The boast wins this season over the OKC Thunder, Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Lakers, and Golden State Warriors, despite the distraction of their head coach being investigated by the FBI for an alleged involvement in an illegal gambling ring. The Rockets just manhandled a very good NBA team, who is reminiscent of their own young team just one year ago with Jrue Holiday playing the role of mentor to the young core. Besides that, this big win now makes them a +13 in NBA Cup play point differential. So overall this was a quality win and big one for the Rockets. The get back to work against the Orlando Magic at home on Sunday at 6:00 PM CST. We will be right here to cover all the analysis pre and postgame on TDS.
