The Rockets lost their third game in a row.
The Houston Rockets almost staged a great comeback on Tuesday night versus the Indiana Pacers. The Rockets were down 17 but came all the way back to lead with 8:45 left in the fourth, before the bottom fell out. The Pacers then went on an 18-3 run, and what looked like a possible great win turned into a 115-102 defeat.
Fred VanVleet was out again for the Rockets, as they continue to struggle without him, but Houston was led by Alperen Sengun, who finished with 25 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 asissts, and 12-for-19 shooting from the floor. The Rockets also got 16 points, 14 rebounds, and 4 assists from Tari Eason off of the bench, while Amen Thompson had 13 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals, but it was just on 5-for-13 shooting.
As a whole, the Rockets only shot 40 percent from the field and were 9-for-30 from deep, while they allowed the Pacers to shoot over 50 percent from the field and were 17-for-42 from three. The Rockets did win the rebound battle, but the vaunted Houston defense has been slipping more and more these days.
Tyrese Haliburton led the Pacers with 28 points and 15 assists, and the Pacers had six scorers finish in double-figures, for a pretty balanced attack overall.
The Rockets are now firmly in fifth place after losing their third game in a row, and they are just 5-11 over their last 16 contests. They stand at 37-25 overall after being 32-14 at one point. Yes, it’s a long season, and yes, this is a young team, but they’ll need to snap out of it soon if they plan on being any more than a one and done this postseason.