With both second-year wing Amen Thompson and veteran point guard Fred VanVleet sidelined by ankle injuries, the Houston Rockets were pressed into unusual rotations against the Orlando Magic on Monday and desperate to uncover primary ball-handling options.
Guard Jalen Green helped fill that void in a 97-84 home win that extended the Rockets’ winning streak to three games. Houston hosts the Phoenix Suns in the third contest of a six-game homestand on Wednesday night.
Green recorded 15 points and a game-high eight assists, posting at least eight assists for the third time in nine games after producing no more than six assists in any game previously this season.
Aaron Holiday and Alperen Sengun added four assists each to help offset the absences of Thompson and VanVleet. Thompson has assumed a bulk of ball-handling duties after VanVleet was lost to an ankle sprain on Feb. 1 against the Brooklyn Nets.
While Thompson is expected to miss 10-14 days after his injury on Saturday against New Orleans, VanVleet should be closer to a return to action.
In the interim, the Rockets welcomed a 20-point performance from forward Jabari Smith Jr. against the Magic — his first since Dec. 23 at Charlotte. Smith drilled five 3-pointers in his return to a makeshift starting lineup, and his fifth 20-point game this season offered a glimpse of his developing skillset.
“The versatility continues to help us playing (the 6-foot-10 Smith) with big lineups or downsizing with him as well,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said. “Any time a team goes zone, you like Jabari in the middle or, obviously, spotting up on the perimeter.
“Not always settling (is key). When they put some lesser defenders on him, he got downhill and used his size. They were contesting or fouling him, he was getting to the basket. All around an aggressive game. Even when he was missing shots, he was hunting and taking the right ones.”
The Suns will conclude their four-game road trip in Houston after falling 120-118 to Memphis on Monday. That loss dropped the Suns to 4-7 since the All-Star break with two of those losses coming in overtime in addition to the two-point setback to the Grizzlies. Phoenix moved to three games over .500 after winning five of six games in late January. The Suns are 6-14 since.
The ability to execute on both ends in close games continues to elude the Suns. Phoenix missed four of five 3-pointers over the final 61 seconds against Memphis.
“It’s a handful of games that just come down to one possession, one play,” Suns coach Mike Budenholzer said. “And it’s plays that happen before that, too, that lead up to it.
“We’ve just got to continue to try and make less mistakes and force our opponent to make more mistakes and reduce that margin of error.”
The game showcased chippiness between the teams, a welcome development for a Suns squad that has occasionally appeared lackluster after failing to match lofty preseason expectations.
“That’s what we need,” Budenholzer said. “We need to stay together. We need to have that fight and get ready for our next one.”
–Field Level Media
