ROCKETS DID NOT LOSE GAME 7 BECAUSE OF BAD CALLS

Rockets need to worry less about the past and more about making shots

Rockets need to worry less about the past and more about making shots
Rockets.com

The audacity and arrogance of an organization to go back and try to justify that they were the better team in the series and the best team in the NBA after being eliminated, is just an awful look and it's embarrassing. There were 7 games in the series and every one of those games played a part in the end result. If you were going to take the time to break down the deciding game in detail then you should have done the same thing, using the same process for the other 6 games that helped decide the outcome.

Did you look at Game 3 which the Rockets won by 3 points and Game 4 which Houston prevailed in by 4 and break down every call and possession to determine if you really deserved to win those games?

Steph Curry vs. James Harden. Getty Images.

Were there missed calls that helped your team? How many whistles went against Golden State unjustly? When you created your formula for points and values for the calls, did you factor those numbers and results into the games you won instead of the final game you lost? Speaking of these formulas and numbers, who validated them and deemed them as an accurate measure for calculating the outcome of games played in the NBA?

Trevor ArizaJ Pat Carter

Ok, forget about all those "minor" details, let's get to the biggest point that the report the Rockets compiled may have forgotten about, the 27 straight missed 3-point shots that sealed their fate in that final game. Regardless of the situation, the calls, the officials, you have to make shots to win basketball games.

In the case of the Rockets, when your entire offense is predicated on making 3-point shots and getting out on the fast break in transition, missing 27 straight attempts behind the arc and shooting less than 16% for the game is not going to get it done. Period. Bottom line. Those are the most important numbers that need to be remembered and discussed, along with the 4 games the Warriors won to the 3 that Houston came out victorious in.

At the end of the day, you will be remembered most by how you handled your toughest defeats and the dark days you had to endure before you finally reach the mountain top. You win with class and you lose the same way. Stop looking in the rear-view mirror trying to change history that has already been made and spend all that energy looking in the windshield, moving forward, focused on the goals ahead.

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The Astros beat the Orioles, 10-7. Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images.

Jeremy Peña and Christian Walker each hit a three-run homer, and the Houston Astros outslugged the Baltimore Orioles 10-7 on Friday night.

Colton Cowser went deep for Baltimore, but the Orioles couldn’t pull this game out despite twice cutting a four-run deficit to one.

Steven Okert (2-2) got the win in relief for Houston, and the Astros — who are without injured closer Josh Hader and lefty reliever Bennett Sousa — held on. Houston signed veteran reliever Craig Kimbrel and he was with the team, but the AL West-leading Astros didn’t use him. Bryan Abreu struck out four to end the game and get his second save.

Rookie catcher Samuel Basallo, who agreed to an eight-year, $67 million contract before the game, did not start for the Orioles, but entered as a pinch hitter in the seventh and tagged out a runner at the plate the following inning.

Peña’s drive to left capped a four-run third that included two Baltimore errors. Jeremiah Jackson’s two-run double made it 4-3 in the fourth, but after Orioles starter Cade Povich (2-7) was pulled with two outs in the fifth, Yennier Cano came on and immediately gave up Walker’s homer.

The Orioles trailed 7-6 after Cowser’s solo shot in the seventh, but pinch-hitter Victor Caratini’s two-run double in the eighth made it a three-run game, and Peña’s comebacker bounced off reliever Corbin Martin and into shallow right-center field for an RBI double.

Orioles infielder Vimael Machín hit a solo homer in the eighth in his first big league plate appearance since 2022.

Houston starter Lance McCullers Jr. allowed three runs in four innings after coming off the injured list (right finger blister).

Key moment

Jackson nearly made a diving catch on Caratini’s hit with two outs in the eighth, but once the ball got past him in right, two runs scored to make it 9-6.

Key stat

The Astros improved to 15-8 in games in which their opponent starts a left-handed pitcher.

Up next

Cristian Javier (1-1) starts for Houston on Saturday night against Dean Kremer (9-9) of the Orioles.

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