Not enough energy
The Rockets report, brought to you by APG&E: Rockets fall to the Suns 127-91
Feb 7, 2020, 10:27 pm
On Friday night, the Rockets were a team on the second half of a road back-to-back without their star point guard and they certainly looked like it. Defensively, the Rockets weren't switching and communicating with the same level of effort they did the night prior in Los Angeles. Offensively, Houston clearly had tired legs as they struggled to make jump shots (11 of 48 from three-point range - 23%) or get out in transition and capitalize on the speed advantage you get when playing small
While the Rockets struggled the make shots (29 of 85 from the field - 34%), the Suns could not miss. Kelly Oubre Jr. absolutely destroyed the Rockets scoring 39 points on a ridiculous 14 of 19 shooting from the field, 7 of 9 shooting from deep, and 4 of 4 shooting from the free throw line. Devin Booker got it going early in the first quarter (18 points, 6 of 8 shooting from the field) and finished with 33 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 block on 10 of 18 shooting from the field, 4 of 8 shooting from three-point range, and 9 of 9 shooting from the charity stripe.
CAREER-HIGH 34 POINTS 🔥 @KELLYOUBREJR has back-to-back 30-point games for the first time in his career! https://t.co/riMqOcegGz— Phoenix Suns (@Phoenix Suns) 1581134308.0
This is the kind of game you want to just flush down the drain and move on. Houston has a couple of tough opponents coming up so it's a good thing Mike D'Antoni and James Harden decided to pack it in early in the 3rd quarter. Houston rarely does this, but it became so patently obvious that they weren't going to climb back into this game.
Star of the game: James Harden finished the game with 32 points, 5 assists, 2 rebounds, and 1 steal on 9 of 19 shooting from the field, 5 of 10 shooting from three-point range, and 9 of 10 shooting from the free throw line. While this loss stings for the Rockets, it's encouraging that Harden was able to get some momentum going before these next stretch of games (Utah on Sunday and Boston on Tuesday).
Honorable mention: Nobody besides Harden played particularly well tonight, but I suppose Ben McLemore played the least bad? McLemore had 13 points on 5 of 10 shooting from the field and 2 of 2 shooting from the free throw line. McLemore couldn't bail Houston out from beyond the arc (1 of 5 shooting), but he was one of only three players who scored in double digits tonight.
Key moment: The only moment where it looked like the Rockets might have a chance was when James Harden had his second quarter scoring run and brought the lead down the single digits. In the second quarter, Harden scored 16 points on 6 of 7 shooting from the field and 4 of 4 shooting from behind the arc. Houston was only trailing 65-55 by the end of the first half. However, once Phoenix decided to trap double-team James Harden, the Rockets weren't able to make open three-pointers and as a result didn't capitalize on the run.
Up next: The Rockets return to Houston to play the Utah Jazz at 6:00 p.m. on Sunday.
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Feb 19, 2025, 1:09 pm
The NFL has rescinded a $25,000 fine Houston’s Joe Mixon received for comments about officiating in the Texans’ loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round of the playoffs after an appeal by the running back.
Mixon was given the fine for his comments following the 23-14 loss where Houston’s defense was penalized twice for hits on quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Appeals officer Chris Palmer said in a letter to Mixon, which was obtained by ESPN.com, that during the hearing process on Jan. 30 he found that Mixon “did not necessarily publicly criticize the officials.”
When asked about the officiating after the game, Mixon said: “everybody knows how it is playing up here.”
“You can never leave it into the refs’ hands,” Mixon said. “The whole world sees, man, what it is. When it comes down to it, you can never leave it into the refs’ hands. It’s all good, though.”
Palmer said in his letter to Mixon that the “integrity of the game and its officials is the responsibility of everyone involved in the NFL.”
“During the appeal hearing, you stated what you meant by your statements referring to the officials,” Palmer said in the letter. “As you know, statements can be interpreted differently by every individual and it seems like you clearly understand the weight and detriment of public criticism towards officials can be, given how impactful your platform is as a player, which I appreciate.”
Mixon was originally fined for a comment former Cincinnati receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh posted on X in agreeing with the running back, which was incorrectly attributed to Mixon in a Sports Illustrated story.
Later on the day he was fined the NFL reissued the fine for the comments Mixon actually made. Sports Illustrated also corrected the error where the comment on X from Houshmandzadeh was attributed to him.
Editor's note: Texans pass rusher Will Anderson is also $25,000 richer after winning his appeal for criticizing officials.
Will Anderson Jr. wins appeal of $25,000 fine for criticizing officials. https://t.co/KZbvgzQJn0
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) February 19, 2025