The Houston Rockets came in on Monday hoping that an unexpected time off (thanks to two postponements due to a winter storm) would allow them to hit the reset button after a long string of losses.
Against Zach LaVine and the rising Bulls, that didn’t quite happen. Fueled by a 46-point burst in the third quarter, Chicago (14-16) won for the fourth time in five games with Monday’s 120-100 blowout (box score) at Toyota Center. It is the eighth loss in a row for the Rockets (11-18), all since the new injury to Christian Wood’s right ankle.
The last time Houston had a longer series loss than eight games was a 15 gamer early in the 2000-01 season.
LaVine led Chicago’s balanced effort with 21 points, hitting 4-of-6 from a 3-point range (66.7%). Meanwhile, defense mate Coby White scored a game-high 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. David Nwaba led Houston with 22 points, which was a career tie and 9 rebounds.
The Rockets were understaffed again, with two starters absent from Wood and Victor Oladipo (right foot strain). Still, the regulars who did play weren’t good enough. Veteran guard John Wall (15 points, 7 assists) shot just 4 of 14 in total (28.6%), while backcourt Eric Gordon (13 points) shot 5 of 18 (27.8%) and 1 of 10 of 3 lap pointers (10.0%).
Houston will be back in action in Cleveland on Wednesday, with a tip-off scheduled at 6:30 p.m. Central time. For now, here’s a round of highlights and post-game comments from Monday’s bad showing.
Stephen Silas
David Nwaba
Eric Gordon