Rockets' Second Half Surge Silences Thunder
HOUSTON, TX (Toyota Center) -- The Houston Rockets used solid defense and great ball movement in the second half to turn a one point halftime lead into a 105 to 85 preseason victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
"I was just really pleased, especially with the second half," said Rockets head coach Rick Adelman. "We defended situations a lot better. Made it a little bit tougher on them. We got in the open court a lot. That's about as well as we've passed the ball all year long."
The Rockets made 20 field goals in the second half -- 16 of them came from assists.
Kyle Lowry dished out 10 assists -- off the bench -- in just 22:09 of action. Lowry picked up six assists in the fourth quarter as he helped rookie forward Chase Budinger score 11 (of his team-high 17) points in the final period. Lowry dished to Budinger for a three-point bucket; and two consecutive fast-break lay-ups.
"Tonight, I thought he (Lowry) was terrific," Adelman commented. "He had 10 assists. He only took three shots. He had a huge impact on the game. One thing he did was find people in the open court; and, he made the right decisions there."
Pops Mensah-Bonsu helped his chances of making the regular season roster with 13 points (5 for 6 from the field) in only 16:17. Pops also pulled down four rebounds.
With 6:35 left in the game, Pops caught a sweet touch pass from Budinger and threw down a two-hand jam to send the crowd into a frenzy and give the Rockets a 94 to 77 lead.
"I thought the first half we didn't get to the shooters quick enough," Adelman said about the Rockets improved effort on defense in the second half. "The second half we tightened that up. Our attitude was different. We were communicating as a group. We were in the right spots tonight. We were not in the right spots the two games before this. Our concentration wasn't nearly as good the two games before this as it was tonight."
"I was just really pleased, especially with the second half," said Rockets head coach Rick Adelman. "We defended situations a lot better. Made it a little bit tougher on them. We got in the open court a lot. That's about as well as we've passed the ball all year long."
The Rockets made 20 field goals in the second half -- 16 of them came from assists.
Kyle Lowry dished out 10 assists -- off the bench -- in just 22:09 of action. Lowry picked up six assists in the fourth quarter as he helped rookie forward Chase Budinger score 11 (of his team-high 17) points in the final period. Lowry dished to Budinger for a three-point bucket; and two consecutive fast-break lay-ups.
"Tonight, I thought he (Lowry) was terrific," Adelman commented. "He had 10 assists. He only took three shots. He had a huge impact on the game. One thing he did was find people in the open court; and, he made the right decisions there."
Pops Mensah-Bonsu helped his chances of making the regular season roster with 13 points (5 for 6 from the field) in only 16:17. Pops also pulled down four rebounds.
With 6:35 left in the game, Pops caught a sweet touch pass from Budinger and threw down a two-hand jam to send the crowd into a frenzy and give the Rockets a 94 to 77 lead.
"I thought the first half we didn't get to the shooters quick enough," Adelman said about the Rockets improved effort on defense in the second half. "The second half we tightened that up. Our attitude was different. We were communicating as a group. We were in the right spots tonight. We were not in the right spots the two games before this. Our concentration wasn't nearly as good the two games before this as it was tonight."
posted by Kris G @ 10:38 PM
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