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Rockets beat Grizzlies, extend home winning streak to 11 games
Dec 14, 2023, 7:18 am
Rockets beat the Grizzlies, 117-104. Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images.
Tari Eason scored a career-high 25 points, Jabari Smith Jr. added 20 points and 10 rebounds and the Houston Rockets extended their home winning streak to 11 games with a 117-104 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night.
Eason came off the bench to shoot 10 for 16 and matched a career high with 14 rebounds.
“I feel like this is something where I always play hard,” Eason said. “When you play hard, all the extra stuff happens, but I wouldn’t say I am doing anything outside of myself.”
The Rockets and Grizzlies face off again Friday night in Memphis in the second game of the home-and-home set.
Houston’s bench outscored the Grizzlies’ backups 58-19.
“It’s been big the last few games,” Houston coach Ime Udoka said. “(It’s a) welcome sight to have those guys back and the energy and change of pace that they bring. … It’s a little sluggish at times, and they infuse some energy. Obviously, (they) got us a lead and got it back in the fourth quarter.”
Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks each scored 11 points and Jae’Sean Tate had 10 points and seven rebounds for Houston, which shot 45%, including 12 of 32 from 3-point range. Houston outrebounded Memphis 58-39.
The Rockets’ 11-game home winning streak is their longest since a franchise record 20-game run from Jan. 10-April 5, 2018.
Jaren Jackson Jr. had a career-high 44 points and seven rebounds for Memphis, which lost its third straight game. Derrick Rose added 19 points and six assists and Vince Williams Jr. had 10 points and seven rebounds.
Jackson was 15 of 24 from the field and scored 29 points in the second half.
“I’m just making sure my balance is good,” Jackson said. “Not changing up the recipe too much, making it simple. Even when you miss, don’t try to reinvent everything and just find guys when I start getting doubled.”
The Grizzlies shot 43%, but were just 10 of 38 from long distance. Memphis forced 19 Houston turnovers, which they converted into 23 points.
Desmond Bane, who is Memphis’ leading scorer at 24.8 points per game, was out with an illness. Bane became the 11th Grizzlies player to miss a game due to injury or illness this season.
Houston led by as many as 19 points in the second quarter before Memphis cut the lead to 57-43 at the half. The Grizzlies opened the second half on a 15-3 run and cut the Rockets’ lead to 60-58 on a free throw by Williams with eight minutes remaining in the third.
Leading 82-81 to start the fourth, Houston opened the quarter on a 10-2 run, stretching its lead to 92-83 on a jumper by VanVleet with 9 1/2 minutes left. Memphis got no closer than six points the rest of the way.
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Houston has a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year, but will have to navigate the likes of Duke, Kentucky and Marquette in the South Region if the Cougars are able to make their first Final Four since 2021.
The Cougars (30-4) were rewarded on Sunday after winning the Big 12 regular-season title and reached the conference tournament title game before losing to Iowa State. They will face No. 16 seed Longwood, the Big South champion, in Memphis, Tennessee, in the first round on Thursday.
Houston is a No. 1 seed for the third time in school history, joining the 1983 team that reached the national championship game and last season when the Cougars were bounced by Miami in the Sweet 16. Should the Cougars advance past the first weekend — a Longwood win would bring a matchup with either Nebraska or Texas A&M — they’ll only need to head up Interstate 45 to Dallas for the regional.
The Cougars will be trying to rebound after getting blown out by the Cyclones in the Big 12 title game. It was the largest margin of defeat for a No. 1 team since UCLA beat Houston by 32 in the 1968 Final Four. Houston was riding an 11-game win streak before the loss.
“We’ll pick ourselves up. We’ve had a great year," Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said after the Iowa State loss. “Obviously 40 minutes is not going to define three months, but we’ll get some guys treatment and healthy and get back at it.”
The South Region also features No. 2 seed Marquette, who will get standout Tyler Kolek back after he missed the Big East Tournament due to an oblique injury. The Golden Eagles (25-9) reached the Big East title game before falling to UConn.
Kentucky (23-9) is the No. 3 seed in the region and will open against No. 14 seed Oakland. Duke (24-8) rounds out the top-four seeds in the region and will face No. 13 seed Vermont in the first round in Brooklyn, New York on Friday.
KOLEK CONCERNMarquette coach Shaka Smart expressed cautious optimism on Sunday that Kolek, the 2023 Big East player of the year, would play in the NCAA opener. Kolek has missed Marquette’s last six games with an oblique injury. The Golden Eagles will face No. 15 seed Western Kentucky (22-11) on Friday in Indianapolis.
“The plan is for him to play, but he’s got to go through a progression this week,” Smart said Sunday.
Smart relayed a story that after the team returned from New York following the Big East title game, Kolek was already going back into the gym to do some ball handling.
“So he has a level of excitement and passion because he feels like he’s going to play. Now we’ve just got to check the boxes we need to check so he can,” Smart said.
Marquette went 3-3 in Kolek’s absence, with two of the losses coming to UConn and the other coming at Creighton.
The Golden Eagles have other injury issues as well. Oso Ighodaro sat out the last seven minutes of the Big East championship game loss he appeared to hurt his knee, and Stevie Mitchell was wearing a brace on his right shoulder during that game.
Smart expects both to play Friday.
POWER CHAMPIONThe South Region features only one team from a power conference that won its conference tournament title. And it’s a team that wasn’t going to make the NCAAs if not for its tournament run.
North Carolina State is the No. 11 seed in the region after its stunning run to the ACC tournament title winning five games in five days including upset wins over rivals Duke and North Carolina in the semifinals and championship game respectively. It was N.C. State’s first ACC title since 1987.
The Wolfpack will face No. 6 seed Texas Tech in Pittsburgh.
30 CLUBFour teams enter the NCAAs with at least 30 victories. Two of them reside in the South Region.
Houston is one of them. The other is James Madison, the champion of the Sun Belt Conference tournament and the hottest team in the country entering the NCAAs. James Madison is the No. 12 seed and will face No. 5 seed Wisconsin on Friday in Brooklyn.
The Dukes went 31-3, knocked off Arkansas State in the Sun Belt championship game and are riding a 13-game win streak. James Madison started the season with a 14-game win streak before its first setback.
It’s the sixth NCAA appearance for James Madison and the first since 2013. And the Dukes’ can score – they average 84.4 points per game, good for ninth nationally.