Ben McLemore, PJ Tucker spark Rockets rout with five 3s each

Out of 30 NBA teams, the Houston Rockets entered Friday at No. 22 in 3-point makes per game (12.0) and No. 28 in accuracy (32.6%).

Those numbers got a big boost, however, in Friday night’s 132-90 romp (box score) over the visiting Orlando Magic (6-3) at Toyota Center. It was easily the largest margin of victory for the Rockets (3-4) this season, and it snapped a two-game losing streak entering the game.

Houston made a season-high 22 3-pointers out of 47 attempts (46.8%), led by five makes each from starting forward PJ Tucker (15 points) and reserve guard Ben McLemore (15 points).

McLemore had missed the first six games of the 2020-21 regular season for the Rockets after reportedly testing positive for COVID-19. But he was Houston’s best 3-point shooter last season at 40.0%, and in his first game of the new season on Friday, McLemore didn’t show any signs of rust with a spectacular 5-of-5 shooting performance from long range.

“It gives us a stone-cold shooter on the perimeter,” said head coach Stephen Silas, in response to a question about the impact of McLemore’s return. “As you saw from our previous games, we needed that.”

Meanwhile, Tucker made 5-of-7 from 3-point range (71.4%), and he also played a key role in Houston’s ball movement with five assists. Tucker’s points, 3-point makes, and assists were all season-highs.

With the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers (7-3) coming to town for two games on Sunday and Tuesday, the Rockets likely need to shoot well to have a chance to win. The performances from McLemore and Tucker on Friday offered hope that that could be the case.

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