ROUGH GOING

Harden injured as Rockets drop another early contest

Harden injured as Rockets drop another early contest
James Harden had a good night before being injured. Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images

The Rockets tipped off at Toyota Center Wednesday night with more questions than their roster had faced in the past two seasons combined. Fans watched to see how they would fare against a formidable Utah Jazz team minus their star point guard Chris Paul for a second straight game, and while a noticeably absent defensive presence resurged, the offense went cold. The Rockets would not only go on to lose the game, but possibly their MVP James Harden as well.

Houston shot out of the gate with an intensity they had otherwise lacked in their two losses so far both on offense and defense. Harden keyed the offense, going 4-4 with 10 points and 5 assists, while Carmelo Anthony was able to warm up early with 9 points. Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell started equally as strong with 11 points.

Foul trouble became an issue, with Anthony, Harden, and Carter-Williams each having picked up 2 fouls with 8:39 left in the second quarter. Eric Gordon struggled to contribute going 0-7 to start from beyond three. Harden's 4-4 start would fizzle into a 5-10 effort by halftime as the Rockets headed into the locker room down eight. Donovan Mitchell continued to build off his strong first quarter, finishing the half with 20 points.

The third quarter began with more of the same theme; strong defense (finally), but an inability to convert open looks on the opposite end. The Rockets would manage to land Jazz front court stalwarts Rudy Gobert and Derrick Favors in foul trouble, but cold shooting sabotaged any attempt to close the gap with Utah. Anthony would pour in a few last minute shots to keep the Rockets within 9 at the end of the third, but with the team shooting 26% from beyond the arc, it should have been a much bigger lead. Mitchell continued his onslaught, as his points total ballooned to 28. Jazz led after three, 75-66.

The Rockets began heating up finally in the fourth and an Anthony block followed by an Anthony three on the other end would draw the Rockets to within 6. Harden checked in with around seven minutes left, immediately sparking a run both defensively and offensively to draw to within 5, however a subsequent shot clock violation would stall the run. A timeout was called and before play resumed, Harden was suddenly off to the locker room with the trainer in what would later be diagnosed as a hamstring injury. The loss of Harden would be too much to overcome and the Rockets would fall 100-89 to the Jazz. Harden would leave with 29 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists, while Mitchell would finish with 38 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists.

Takeaways

Carmelo Anthony showed promise within the Rockets’ offense, finishing with a season high 22 points after averaging less than 9 in his first three games. Allowing Melo to establish a rhythm like he was able to tonight in games will be pivotal to his ability to contribute moving forward.

Harden's hamstring is obviously something to keep an eye on. While speaking to the media he claimed it was “nothing serious,” and he was just “being cautious.” If true, then the Houston dodged a major bullet. Harden is one of the tougher players in the game and doesn't like sitting out, so if he sits on Friday, it's safe to assume that he's actually hurt.

Once again the Rockets were out-rebounded (47-35) and out-scored in the paint (48-36). Capela finished with 10 points, 12 rebounds, and 2 blocks in a hefty 38 minutes of work, but as it stands, he's really the only capable body down low at the moment. Until Houston gets healthy, expect teams to continue to pound the inside while Capela sits.

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Houston vs Los Angeles Clippers, Friday, 7:00 pm

 

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The Padres beat the Astros, 3-2. Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images.

Fernando Tatís Jr. hit a tiebreaking solo home run and scored all of San Diego’s runs as the Padres avoided being swept with a 3-2 win over the Houston Astros on Sunday night.

Tatís sent the first pitch he saw from Tayler Scott (1-2) 427 feet to straightaway center to give the Padres a 3-2 lead in the seventh.

Tatís scored from second on a Mauricio Dubón error in the first, and he led off the third with a triple before scoring on an RBI single by Gavin Sheets.

The Astros tied it with two runs in the fifth on an RBI single by Dubón and a Yordan Alvarez sacrifice fly.

Luis Arraez was carted off and taken to a hospital for evaluation after a first inning collision with Dubón on a play at first base. Arraez’s face appeared to collide with Dubón’s arm or elbow, and the Padres designated hitter lay motionless in foul territory next to first base for several minutes.

After being tended to by trainers from both teams, Arraez was placed on a backboard and carted out of the stadium.

Dylan Cease yielded two runs on six hits with six strikeouts in five innings for the Padres. Alek Jacob (1-0) pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings for the win, and Robert Suarez pitched the ninth for his second save.

Starting pitcher Framber Valdez surrendered two runs on seven hits in six innings for the Astros.

Key moment

With two outs and the tying run on second in the eighth, Jason Adam struck out Victor Caratini to end the inning.

Key stat

The Padres have scored 20 runs in the seventh inning this season, the most runs they have scored in any inning.

Up next

Houston RHP Hunter Brown (2-1, 1.50 ERA) starts the opener of a three-game series against the Blue Jays on Monday night, while San Diego RHP Randy Vásquez (1-1, 1.74) starts Monday in the opener of a three-game series in Detroit.

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