SKY IS THE LIMIT
Significant factors driving Rockets’ rapid ascent to NBA elite
Jan 28, 2025, 2:58 pm
The Hawks host the Rockets on Tuesday night. Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images.
The Houston Rockets have been one of the NBA’s more surprising teams this season. After their past three games, they shouldn’t shock anyone.
The Rockets beat the Eastern Conference-leading Cleveland Cavaliers twice last week before traveling to Boston and pulling out a 114-112 victory over the defending champion Celtics on Monday night.
“We’re over halfway through now and our record is what it is, so it’s not just a fluke or anything,” Houston coach Ime Udoka said. “People watch film and see the physicality and the way that we play, it’s a little different than the rest of the league, maybe that catches people off guard initially, but I wouldn’t say we’re sneaking up on anybody anymore at this point in the season.”
Houston (31-14), which is second in the Western Conference, posted its ninth win in 11 games on Monday. Its record is a few percentage points better than that of the defending NBA champion Celtics (32-15).
The Cavs and Celtics were a combined 104-28 (.788) entering their games against Houston. The Rockets became the first team in NBA history to win three straight games against teams with that high of a winning percentage, with a minimum of 40 games for each opponent, according to OptaSTATS.
Amen Thompson hit a floater over Jaylen Brown with 0.7 seconds left to give the Rockets the victory at Boston.
“We feel like we can beat anybody, and this road trip is really proving that,” Thompson said.
Led by a balanced lineup featuring Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun, veteran Fred VanVleet, Thompson and Dillon Brooks, the Rockets have been rolling since their 23-point home loss to the Celtics on Jan. 3.
“We don’t like to lose at home, especially to the Celtics,” Thompson said. “We just come in here every day and we just try to win.”
Teams around the league are taking notice of what Houston is doing. After the Cavaliers finished off their 19-point home win over Detroit on Monday, they spent time in the postgame locker room watching the Rockets’ victory.
“We’re just playing hard, playing together,” said Brooks, who finished with a 36 points against Boston, including a 10-of-15 performance from 3-point range.
“We have trust in one another,” Brooks said.
The Rockets are plenty confident, but they understand big wins mean nothing if they can't follow them up. They’ll get that chance Tuesday night when they play at Atlanta.
“Playing some of the top teams obviously gives us some confidence,” Udoka said.
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Astros first baseman Christian Walker left Wednesday's game against the Athletics after being hit by a pitch on his right hand.
Manager Joe Espada said that he was hit on the top of his hand near his knuckles and that X-rays were negative.
“That's a good sign,” Espada said. “So we'll see how he feels tomorrow.”
Walker was hit by a 96 mph pitch from Luis Severino in the fourth inning. He writhed in pain for a few seconds before trotting to first base, where he was examined by a trainer.
He remained in the game and scored on a two-out single by Cam Smith.
Walker played defense in the next two innings before being replaced by pinch-hitter Mauricio Dubón in the bottom of the sixth.
“He played defense and once he came back for his at-bat, we asked him to grip a bat and he wasn't very comfortable doing that,” Espada said.