Pacers spoil elite Christian Wood game as Rockets fall apart late
The Rockets (17-53) blew a 12-point lead in the fourth quarter as the visiting Indiana Pacers (24-47) rallied to a 121-118 victory (box score) on Friday night at Toyota Center. For Houston, it was a fourth straight loss, and it maintains their spot with the NBA’s worst record.
Christian Wood led the way with a game-high 32 points on 11-of-14 shooting (78.6%), including 4-of-6 on 3-pointers (66.7%). Houston’s big man also collected a team-high 13 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks in his 34 minutes. Nonetheless, the Rockets were outscored in the fourth quarter, 38-23, as Indiana sent Houston to a dispiriting home loss.
Veteran guard Malcolm Brogdon led the Pacers with 25 points on 11-of-19 shooting (57.9%), while starting center Goga Bitadze had 23 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 steals on perfect 9-of-9 shooting.
Rookie guard Jalen Green had 20 points and 6 assists for the Rockets, including several key plays late in the fourth quarter to give Houston a chance to win. But with the Rockets down two in the closing seconds, it was Kevin Porter Jr. (19 points, 4 assists) who took the final shot on an isolation play. Neither Wood nor Green, who led the Rockets in scoring and had the playmaking burden for much of Friday’s game, touched the basketball on the decisive possession at Toyota Center.
Rookie big man Alperen Sengun had 15 points and 4 rebounds in 21 minutes off Houston’s bench on Friday night.
Scroll on for highlights and postgame reaction.
Or, don’t let your franchise player touch the basketball in a 2-point game in the closing seconds. 🤷♂️ https://t.co/cRXlnE9ocQ
— Ben DuBose (@BenDuBose) March 19, 2022
Highlights
Stephen Silas is pretty disappointed and it's very apparent in his post-game interview. "I'm disappointed for our guys… I thought we played well enough to win. Yeah, I'm disappointed. I haven't been like this all season so I'm allowed every once in awhile to be down."
— ClutchFans (@clutchfans) March 19, 2022
Stephen Silas on the KPJ drive: "That's what we wanted. We wanted Scoot going to his left hand, we wanted Jalen to clear the way for him to drive, maybe hit Jalen for him to drive, if not, Scoot could go downhill. I thought we got a good look."
— Jackson Gatlin (@JTGatlin) March 19, 2022
What’s next
The Rockets continue their four-game homestand with a visit from Memphis (48-23) on Sunday afternoon. With an identical 2:30 p.m. CDT tipoff, the Pacers will host the Portland Trail Blazers (26-43).
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