The Cleveland Cavaliers are one of only three NBA teams with a worse track record than the Houston Rockets, and they started back-to-back Wednesday on the second night and with 10 losses in their last 11 games.
Still, it still wasn’t enough for the Rockets (11-19) to end their lost streak, which now has nine games and the longest for the franchise in more than 20 years. Overall, Houston is 0-9 since Christian Wood’s ankle injury on Feb. 4 after being 7-1 in the eight previous games.
With the Rockets suddenly devoid of size after Wood’s injury and DeMarcus Cousins’ release, Cavs center Jarrett Allen (26 points, 18 rebounds, 4 blocks) towered over PJ Tucker, Jae’Sean Tate, and every piece of Houston alongside Justin Patton. Allen was dominant in Cleveland’s 112-96 win (box score), shooting 10-of-11 (90.9%).
John Wall led the undersized Rockets with a 20-point loss.
“The defense was not very good,” said head coach Stephen Silas after the game. “Violation was incoherent. Completely bad.”
Wall, a five-time All-Star and the clear team leader, gave more pointed criticism of Houston’s sudden lack of size. “We absolutely need some kind of paint,” said Wall from Cleveland.
Veteran guards Victor Oladipo and Eric Gordon each played for the Rockets after being listed as questionable with injuries, but it wasn’t nearly enough. Oladipo and Gordon each scored 17 points, but they only shot 3 out of 15 from a 3-point range (20.0%). Meanwhile, the Cavaliers fired 16-of-36 on 3-pointers (44.4%), led by Dylan Windler’s 4-of-4.
The Rockets end a two-game road trip on Friday in Tampa, where the Toronto Raptors play this season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Tipoff is scheduled at 6:30 p.m. Central. For now, here’s a collection of post-game highlights and comments from Cleveland.
Stephen Silas
John Wall
Victor Oladipo