Rockets come-from-behind and defeat the Hawks, 128-122 Friday night

POSTED: November 26, 2022 -- 9:42 a.m. CT

HOUSTON, TX (Toyota Center) -- The Houston Rockets came-from-behind and defeated the Atlanta Hawks 128-122 Friday night. The Rockets "locked in on defense" and finally stopped turning over the ball in the fourth quarter. The Hawks shot 28.6 fg% (4 for 14) in the fourth period. The Rockets committed 20 turnovers in the first three quarters but only turned over the ball twice in the final 12 minutes.

Jalen Green led the Rockets with a team-high 30 points. Green fouled out of the game with 1:11 remaining and the Rockets leading 122-118. Green's good defense on Trae Young minutes later led to a miss by Young and resulted in Green's three-point basket which tied the game at 115.

KJ Martin was stellar Friday night with 21 points and a career-high 15 rebounds. Martin made 10 of his 13 field goal attempts. He did have 5 of the team's 22 turnovers; however, Martin had zero turnovers in the fourth quarter.

Rookie Jabari Smith Jr. also scored 21 points and added 9 rebounds. Smith shot 6 for 17 from the floor including 5 for 11 on three-pointers.

Smith and Hawks guard Dejounte Murray got involved in a heated exchange in the third quarter. Smith defended Murray at the top of the key when Murray made a contested three-point shot. After the basket, Murray tapped Smith on the top of his head. Seconds later, after a dead ball on the Rockets' possession, Smith confronted Murray about the disrespectful tapping on his head. Jalen Green and Trae Young got involved in the verbal altercation. All 4 players received a technical foul.

When the technical fouls were assessed, the Rockets trailed the Hawks 90-75 with 6:35 remaining in the third quarter.

After the game, Smith commented, "It's good to know they (his teammates) got my back."

Green said, "At the end of the day, we're not going to go for that type of disrespect."

Houston trailed 104-94 at the end of three quarters. Through three quarters, the Hawks scored 31 points off the Rockets' 20 turnovers.

Garrison Mathews played a key role in the Rockets' win over the Hawks. Mathews scored 20 points in 22 minutes, 45 seconds off the bench. Mathews scored 11 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter. He did not have more than 11 points in a game prior this season.

In addition to the 20 points, Mathews played solid defense, kept possessions alive with rebounds and hustle, and he was aggressive. Mathews was a perfect 9-for-9 from the foul line.

"Garry Bird is back," Green joked after the game. "I told him, 'Welcome, back.' "

The Rockets (4-14) dominated the Hawks (11-8) on the boards. Houston outrebounded Atlanta 59-28. The Rockets outscored the Hawks 37-2 in second chance points.

Trae Young had a season-high 44 points while Dejounte Murray scored a career-high 39. They narrowly missed becoming the first pair of Hawks teammates to have scored 40+ points in the same game. Atlanta is 0-2 when Young scores 40+ this season after going 8-2 in 2021-22.

Kevin Porter Jr finished the game with 12 points and 10 assists. Seven of KPJ's 10 assists came in the second half.

The Rockets won despite trailing by as many as 16 points in the third and by 10 heading into the fourth. The last time Houston won a game in which it was trailing by double-digits at the start of the fourth was also against Atlanta on Dec. 13, 2021 (down 13). This win is the Rockets first win of the season in a game in which they trailed by double-digits at any point and their first win when trailing at the start of the fourth quarter.

NEXT:

The Rockets' next game is Saturday night, November 26, versus the Oklahoma City Thunder. Tip is set for 7 p.m. Central Time.

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