On the same day that job speculation swirled with regards to head coach Stephen Silas and rookie Jalen Green was lost to a leg injury, the Houston Rockets pulled off their most satisfying win in quite some time.
Wednesday’s 118-113 victory (box score) over the visiting Chicago Bulls (12-7) snapped a 15-game losing streak for the Rockets and improved them to 2-16 on the 2021-22 season. It was a raucous environment in front of Houston fans at Toyota Center, allowing the home team to head into Thanksgiving with something to finally be thankful for.
The Rockets made a tactical change heading into the game, with Silas removing usual starting center Daniel Theis from the starting lineup (and rotation) while allowing Christian Wood to return to that position — which is where he excelled in the 2020-21 season a year ago.
Jae’Sean Tate slid up to the “power forward” spot, while veteran Eric Gordon started in Tate’s usual spot at small forward. That made for a smaller lineup, but one with much improved shooting and creation ability. As a team, Houston connected on 17-of-36 shots (47.2%) from 3-point range, and seven players shot 50% or better from long range.
In the loss, All-Star wing Zach LaVine led the visiting Bulls with 28 points on 11-of-23 shooting (47.8%). Chicago had entered Wednesday’s game in possession of the second-best record in the Eastern Conference.
See below for a roundup of players who took advantage of their new opportunities. Houston returns to action with Saturday’s game versus Charlotte (12-8), which marks the second of a three-game homestand at Toyota Center. For now, they head into a two-day “Thanksgiving break” feeling good about themselves, which is a welcome change.
