Christian Wood led Houston with 22 points and 11 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough on night two of a split back-to-back in Memphis as the Grizzlies held on for a 113-106 victory (box score). For the young Rockets (8-18), it’s their second consecutive loss after seven straight wins.
After playing Friday night at home versus the Milwaukee Bucks, Houston arrived early Saturday morning in Memphis after a turbulent, storm-interrupted flight. Veteran guard Eric Gordon did not play, as has been the case throughout the season on back-to-backs, and the usual starting backcourt of Jalen Green and Kevin Porter Jr. remains injured.
That left the Rockets quite short-handed. After falling behind, 21-5, only minutes into Saturday’s game, they clawed back but weren’t able to ever get fully over the hump. Houston tried starting its original frontcourt of Wood and Daniel Theis to match up with the size and physicality of Steven Adams for the Grizzlies, but the problems related to floor spacing that have plagued that duo all year were again present.
The Grizzlies (16-11) were led by 25 points from Dillon Brooks, who returned from a stint in the NBA’s health and safety protocols.
Besides Wood, other Houston players in double-figures included:
- Alperen Sengun: 15 points, 5-of-8 shooting (62.5%), 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 blocks in 23 minutes
- Armoni Brooks: 18 points, 6-of-12 shooting (50.0%), 4-of-9 on 3-pointers (44.4%), 6 rebounds, 6 assists in 34 minutes
- Josh Christopher: 12 points, 5-of-9 shooting (55.6%), 2-of-4 on 3-pointers (50.0%), 2 assists in 21 minutes
- Garrison Mathews: 12 points, 3-of-10 shooting (30.0%), 2-of-8 on 3-pointers (25.0%), 2 assists in 27 minutes
The Rockets will return to action on Monday night at Atlanta (13-13), with tipoff scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Central. Until then, here’s a sampling of Saturday’s highlights and postgame reaction from Memphis.
