Is he back to his old self?

How long can Russell Westbrook keep his hot streak up?

Zach Allen
Dec 25, 2019, 9:51 am
Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images

On the Jump today, Rachel Nichols, Kendrick Perkins, and Paul Pierce discussed why the Rockets were successful in their last four games. In the last four games, Westbrook has been extremely hot. He has averaged 32.3 points per game in the Rockets last four wins.

How has Westbrook been able to do this? Westbrook is finally getting comfortable in Mike D' Antoni's offensive system. He is shooting 45.4% from the field in the last four games. Westbrook has been able to use his speed and quickness to get the basket. Besides Westbrook getting to the basket, he has been able to find his infamous pull up jump shot again. It was never lost but rare when he took that. Recently, Westbrook has taken over games or made clutch shots. He has not been shy of the moment in recent games against the Kings, Clippers, and Spurs.


The Jump | Rachel Nichols Praises Westbrook turning corner offensively well-timed - Rockets victory youtu.be


It was almost concerning that Westbrook looked like a role player. He was never to be found in the fourth quarter. In fourth quarters, it was mostly James Harden taking over games. Westbrook was a bystander in the earlier part of the season. It seems now that Westbrook has gained most of his confidence back. He has given Rocket fans a reminder of what he was in Oklahoma City. It looks like Harden and Westbrook are finally on the same page.

If Harden and Westbrook remain on the same page, will this keep Westbrook scoring at a high rate?

The answer to that question is yes. Westbrook and Harden combined for a total of 266 points in the last four games. These two are causing the Rockets to play great basketball. The Rockets might have a chance at an NBA title if they keep this up. Since these two are on the same page, this has allowed the offense to be more successful. For Westbrook to continue his success he must stay aggressive and not let Harden forget about him.



Westbrook has not looked this good since the first game of the season against the Milwaukee Bucks.

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Houston gets another victory in Anaheim

Astros overpower Angels again as magic number dwindles

Kyle Tucker had 3 of Houston's RBI on Tuesday night, including a two-run homer. Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images

After a beatdown of the Angels on Monday in the opener, the Astros entered Tuesday's game looking to replicate that success. Though Los Angeles would put up more of a fight, Houston still used their potent offense to keep the game out of reach.

Final Score: Astros 10, Angels 5

Astros' Record: 90-61, first in the AL West

Winning Pitcher: Jose Urquidy (8-3)

Losing Pitcher: Packy Naughton (0-3)

Houston's bats keep connecting to back up Urquidy

The Astros picked up on Tuesday's game where they left off on Monday, launching homers to take and extend a lead. A leadoff walk by Carlos Correa in the top of the second set up Kyle Tucker, who drove a two-run shot. Aledmys Diaz was next, making it back-to-back jacks to push the new lead to 3-0.

That gave Jose Urquidy a lead to work with, which came in handy as former Astro Jack Mayfield cut the lead to two runs with a leadoff solo homer in the bottom of the second. Other than that, Urquidy did well through five innings, allowing just two other hits over that span. LA got to him in the sixth, getting two singles to set up a three-run homer to end his night. His final line: 5.1 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 2 HR, 79 P.

The runs keep coming

He would still leave in line for the win, though, as before that bottom of the sixth, the Astros had put up seven more runs across the fifth and sixth. A leadoff walk in the top of the fifth was followed by a two-run homer by Jose Altuve, then later in the frame, an RBI single by Aledmys Diaz made it 7-1. They pushed that to double digits in the sixth, with a leadoff solo shot by Martin Maldonado, a sac fly by Carlos Correa, and an RBI groundout by Kyle Tucker, putting them up 10-1 before the homer allowed by Urquidy cut that to 10-4.

Astros win to reduce magic number again

In the sixth, Cristian Javier took over for Urquidy, finished that inning, and returned for a scoreless seventh. He ran into Shohei Ohtani to lead off the bottom of the eighth and left a fastball in the zone, which Ohtani turned around 445 feet to make it a five-run game. Javier still got through the inning, leaving just the ninth for Houston's second reliever of the night, Josh James. James would get through a scoreless inning, erasing a leadoff walk as the lopsided win paired with an A's loss reduces Houston's magic number to 4.

Up Next: The third of this four-game series will be another 8:38 PM Central start on Wednesday. Janson Junk (0-1, 2.25 ERA) will make his third career start for the Angels, while Luis Garcia (11-7, 3.37 ERA) will have the ball for the Astros.

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