If there is a blueprint for performance in the first game of a back-to-back set, the Houston Rockets showcased it on Sunday.
Houston recorded a season-high point total and season-best margin of victory in its 143-107 road win over the Chicago Bulls. Seven Rockets players scored in double figures, and all five starters logged less than 29 minutes in advance of a road showdown with the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday night.
Houston’s Alperen Sengun produced 20 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists Sunday for his second consecutive triple-double. Fred VanVleet tallied a game-high 28 points while adding seven rebounds and seven assists. Jalen Green scored 18 points on nine shots from the field. And Amen Thompson (16 points, 11 rebounds) recorded a double-double in 22 minutes off the bench.
It marked the fifth consecutive win and the seventh victory in the past eight games for the Rockets.
“We’re just finding our rhythm,” VanVleet said of the winning streak. “It’s a long season. We got off to a shaky start (1-2), but we’re finding our flow, and right now we’ve got it in a good place. We’ve got to stay locked in and stay focused.”
The Rockets continue to thrive off their defense and their ability to turn stops into transition baskets.
After recording 32 points in transition against the Bulls, the Rockets are producing an average of 22.4 fast-break points per game during their winning streak.
“It starts with defense, obviously,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said. “When we can get stops and turnovers and get out (in transition), that’s been a calling card lately.
“I think it’s good that we continue to go in that direction. Get the easy ones where we don’t have to play against a set defense, we’ll take that every night.”
The Bucks’ 115-114 road loss to Charlotte on Saturday ended a modest two-game winning streak. Still, it didn’t deter what has been the best example of momentum generated by Milwaukee this season.
The team has been without Khris Middleton thus far while Damian Lillard (concussion) missed his third consecutive game in the loss to the Hornets. But the setback in Charlotte was hotly contested into the waning moments, and back-to-back victories over Toronto and Detroit offered glimpses of what the Bucks can achieve with effort despite a shorthanded roster.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, as expected, carried a heavy load in the six games following his injury absence against Cleveland on Nov. 4, averaging 33.7 points, 12.3 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 2.3 blocks. The Bucks’ contributions from the rest of the roster have served them well and provide reason to expect marked improvement when Lillard returns and if Middleton rejoins the fray.
“I think the last five or six games we’ve been playing good basketball,” Antetokounmpo said. “Guys are competing, and I just love to see it.
“Everybody that steps in competes … and this is what we have to do. Everybody has that individual pride. Everybody knows that you have to guard. For us to win games, you have to guard. There isn’t any other way, and I think players have taken that to heart and are going out there trying to guard the best way they can.”
