Rockets humiliate exhausted Celtics

Even if the water has flowed under the bridge, Ime Udoka must not shy away from his pleasure at humiliating his former training. On Saturday night, the Celtics were aiming for their fourth straight win, and instead they learned a lesson, winning in front of their home crowd 128-101 against the Rockets, who were outscored by as many as 33 points! Last season, the Rockets wonsmall point thanks to Amen Thompson. This time there was no suspense.

In back-to-back wins against the Sixers, Jaylen Brown’s teammates never matched the Rockets, who started the game on 7-of-9 shooting and took an 18-12 lead. Derrick White may appreciate his technique, while Neemias Cueta struggles under the circle, Houston relies on the gala of Kevin Durant to escape and lead by 13 points after twelve minutes (37-24). Hugo Gonzalez’s 3-foul outing forces Joe Mazzula to make more changes.

Jabari Smith Jr. as Scarecrow

Baylor Scheierman and Chris Boucher certainly bring the energy, but Tarry Eason and Jabari Smith Jr. bring the scoring. Durant continues his clinic and scores 20 points at halftime with just one missed shot. A nice dunk by Josh Minott may have woken up the TD Garden crowd, but at halftime the Celtics trailed by 18 points (66-48).

Coming back from the locker room, Minot wants to do it again and pulls for Jabari Smith Jr. Except that the attacker attacks him badly and he ends up with four blocks (personal best). The Celtics lose their nerve and go two-technique, including one on Joe Mazzula. If Peyton Pritchard regains some skill, his teammates don’t find the target, and Houston further extends the gap to reach a 25-point lead (97-72) before the final act.

TD Garden vibrates one last time on Hugo Gonzalez’s counter on Eason, but it’s very thin. Garbage time allows Reed Shepard and Eason to score from long range to bring the deficit to +33! Udoka sent out JD Davison and Jeff Green to stretch their legs against his old team, and the Rockets ended up winning 128-101 in a one-sided matchup.

WHAT TO REMEMBER

Kevin Durant too easy. A new display of efficiency for the Rockets winger who warmed up the wrist with his first 4 of 4 shooting. Without any pressure, he scored 26 points on 8 of 11 shooting in 29 minutes.

A very complete Sengun-Thompson duo. If Ime Udoka hadn’t opened his bench very early, the Rockets would undoubtedly have finished the game with two triple-doubles. Playmaker Amen Thompson has 17 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists in 32 minutes, while Alperen Sengun has 16 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists in 30 minutes.

So many missed free throws. It’s not harmful, but the Rockets continue to waste easy points. If Kevin Durant and his teammates went to the line 35 times, they missed 10 free throws, to finish at 71% in the drill. The worst team in the NBA last season, Houston is not improving despite “contracts” between staff and players.

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