Jabari Smith joins Hakeem Olajuwon in Rockets history
Jabari Smith continued his great play Monday night and helped lead the Houston Rockets to a 111-109 win over the Boston Celtics.
Smith finished with 24 points and 11 rebounds, his third-straight game with at least 20 points and 10 rebounds. The former Auburn Tiger is the first Rockets rookie to accomplish that feat since the great Hakeem Olajuwon did so in six straight games in 1985.
Smith, the third overall pick in last year’s draft, struggled to start the season but has turned a corner over the past six games. He is averaging 18.7 points and 7.8 rebounds over that stretch
Even more impressively, he is starting to become an efficient scorer. He is shooting 72.9% from the field and 53.6% from 3-point range in those six games.
“(I’m) just letting it go and trusting my work,” Smith told Vanessa Richardson of AT&T SportsNet Southwest. “I’ve been playing basketball since I was born (so I’m) trusting my work, trusting what got me here and just letting it fly.”
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