The Houston Rockets got absolutely hosed by the NBA Cup makeup game schedule.
Or at least, they didn’t make out like gangbusters like the Dallas Mavericks did. The Rockets got the Clippers (who, when their old bodies are given several days off, play much better than normal) and the Denver Nuggets (who are just awesome all the time) on the road in altitude.
Meanwhile, the Mavericks got the Nets for what will be a third time this season and the Jazz. Some teams get all the luck.
Obviously, the key matchup tonight will be Nikola Jokic against Alperen Sengun. In their matchup in Houston, Sengun seemed to try to hard to make things happen and was poor for most of the night. It felt like Jokic wasn’t incredible, but he finished with 34/10/9 so I guess not allowing a triple double to the dude is a success? Jamal Murray cooked Houston as usual, as did Tim Hardaway Jr. off the bench (though I guess 5/11 from the field isn’t up to his standard “eviscerates Houston by making every shot” approach). Spencer Jones also came off the bench to provide fouls and a key three-pointer in the game.
Space City Home Network and Peacock
Dorian Finney-Smith: OUT (ankle)
The Line (as of this post)
Looking ahead because we can
Thursday night on the road against the New Orleans Pelicans
