The 2-Man Game: The Rockets need to put iso-ball to the side
Rockets Rundown
Mario Elie and Joel Blank
16 May 2018
The Rockets did not get the results they were looking for in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals against the Warriors. They need to make some adjustments before Game 2 and one of those should be limiting the iso-ball. Mike D'Antoni needs to get more players involved in the offense, and that can also lead to guys playing better on the defensive end of the court as well. Also, if the Rockets truly are the deeper team, they have to get more out of their role players. Those guys are going to struggle to do anything if they never touch the ball. Finally, the Rockets need to shake some things up on defense and give the Warriors some different looks.
Jalen Green scored 26 points, Alperen Sengun had 22 points and 12 rebounds, and the Houston Rockets extended their winning streak to a season-best eight games, beating the Orlando Magic 116-108 on Wednesday night.
Fred VanVleet added 19 points for the Rockets, who maintained their second-place position in the Western Conference, ahead of — among others — the surging Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors.
Paolo Banchero led Orlando with 31 points. Franz Wagner added 20 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Magic, and reserve Goga Bitadze had 19 points and eight rebounds.
Takeaways
Rockets: Their streak included a six-game homestand. This was only their second road win since Jan. 28.
Magic: After nine losses in 13 games and six straight defeats at home, the Magic stand eighth in the East. Banchero has averaged 33 points over the last four games.
Key moment
Green and VanVleet made 3-pointers to open and close a 12-0 run late in the third quarter that left the Rockets with an 80-65 lead.
Key stat
The poorest free-throw shooting team in the NBA, the Rockets made 29 of 32 (90.6%) from the foul line.
Up next
Rockets: At Miami on Friday.
Magic: At Washington on Friday.
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