CHICAGO_Before the Houston Rockets' 96-88 victory Saturday night at the United Center, the teams had the same number of victories but different championship aspirations.
The Rockets had some. The Chicago Bulls had none.
The Rockets took the powerhouse Golden State Warriors to Game 7 in last season's Western Conference finals, falling after they lost Chris Paul to a hamstring injury. And their early-season woes weren't totally solved by the return Saturday of reigning NBA Most Valuable Player James Harden from a three-game absence with a strained left hamstring.
The offseason losses of versatile Trevor Ariza and tough-minded Luc Mbah a Moute have contributed to the Rockets' slow start _ they improved to 3-5 with the victory. So has a two-game suspension for Paul and inconsistent shooting from Eric Gordon, who sat with yet another hamstring issue.
Nevertheless, coach Mike D'Antoni is confident his team _ which has been linked to Jimmy Butler in trade rumors _ will recover.
"We have to have the urgency, and I think we will, to come out and play as hard as we can and hopefully knock some shots down, get some swagger and go do it," he told reporters in Houston this week.
D'Antoni lost his voice screaming from the sideline during the Rockets' Friday night victory over the Brooklyn Nets in New York, barely audible in brief pregame remarks. He elaborated on his team's struggles earlier in the week.
"Analytically, there's no reason why," he said. "We're shooting the same shots we did last year, just shooting them at a 20 percent worse clip. We looked at it, watched the film. We're getting the same shots, same pace, same everything. The ball is not going in. Foul shots are not going in. You don't change up a foul shot. We're not making those.
"We obviously got some sort of malaise over us we have to shrug off and get going. It's like everything else _ you got to get some positive feedback. You see the ball goes in, that leads into a momentum thing we have to manufacture. Your psyche is very delicate, especially in this league. They kick you when you get down."
The Bulls know all about that. Rocked by injuries, they've endured blowouts and blown leads. In the last week alone, they were destroyed by the Warriors before losing back-to-back close games against the Denver Nuggets and Indiana Pacers _ all at home.
After leading 56-54 at halftime Saturday, the Bulls produced a third quarter that defied description. They missed 15 of 17 shots. They committed six turnovers. They scored seven points, just one more than the lowest-scoring quarter in franchise history.
The Bulls made just six second-half field goals, a franchise low, and scored 32 points. The Rockets led by as many as 17 points.
Zach LaVine ran his career-best streak of 20-point games to 11 with 21 points, while rookie Wendell Carter Jr. posted his second double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds with four blocks.
Until the Bulls are healthy, competitive efforts seem more to be the goal in this season of their full rebuild.
"We are supposed to be competing. That's our job," LaVine said. "It's just frustrating knowing you played well these last couple games. It's almost like you're deserving of a win. We just have to play four quarters. We can't have that many mistakes. We have to play almost flawless basketball."
Indeed, the Bulls' margin of error is as thin as Harden's beard is thick. Harden, who led the Rockets with 25 points, seemed to ease his way back into action, posting five first-quarter assists without scoring. His first field goal came on a driving layup at the 3 minute, 56 mark of the second quarter. Within a minute, he had hit two more 3-pointers and hit halftime with 10 points.
That's what the Rockets offense can do when firing on all cylinders _ bury teams with a quick avalanche of points. It just has happened with far less frequency this season.
"We're trying to get there," D'Antoni rasped pregame. "We'll get there sooner or later."
