HOUSTON — Jalen Green (33 points) and Alperen Sengun (23 points, 12 rebounds) played well at home, but they couldn’t match Ja Morant (49 points, 8 assists) as the Memphis Grizzlies rallied past the Rockets on Friday night at Toyota Center, 129-122 (box score).
The young and rebuilding Rockets (0-2) had a sold-out crowd for their home opener and fed off that energy for much of the game, scoring 70 points in the first half alone. But the Grizzlies (2-0), who finished with the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference last season, took over late with a commanding 34-22 showing in the fourth quarter.
Morant, a perennial All-Star connected on 17-of-26 shots (65.4%) from the field, shooting 5-of-6 on 3-pointers (83.3%) and 10-of-13 from the free-throw line (76.9%). John Konchar added 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting (63.6%), including 3-of-6 on 3-pointers (50.0%).
Green connected on 13-of-21 shots (61.9%) for the Rockets and Sengun went 9-of-13 (69.2%), though the big man made just 4-of-10 free throws (40.0%). Sengun played 27 minutes after starting center Bruno Fernando left early in the second half with left knee soreness.
Kevin Porter Jr. added 18 points and 5 rebounds for the Rockets, including 4-of-8 from 3-point range (50.0%). Eric Gordon had 17 points and 4 assists, and he made 2-of-5 on 3-pointers (40.0%).
Scroll on for highlights, analysis, and postgame interviews. The Rockets return to action Saturday for night two of a split back-to-back in Milwaukee, with the tip set for 7 p.m. Central.
Highlights
Analysis and Interviews
Jalen Green tonight:
33 points
5 rebounds
2 assists
1 steal13/21 FG
4/5 3FG
3/4 FT… and a MONSTER dunk.pic.twitter.com/gofFKCuGPw
— Jackson Gatlin (@JTGatlin) October 22, 2022
Stephen Silas on the #Rockets performance tonight:
"This team is much better than anyone thinks we are."
— Jackson Gatlin (@JTGatlin) October 22, 2022
Alperen Sengun tonight:
23 points
12 rebounds
1 assist
1 steal
1 block9/13 FG
1/2 3FG
4/10 FTGreat game off the bench from Al-P. Needs to work on that free throw shooting though.
— Jackson Gatlin (@JTGatlin) October 22, 2022
More Silas: "They really had to put a lot into it to beat us, and that's one of the things, we want to be a team that's hard to play against, and we were tonight we're very hard to play against." https://t.co/0fMXxeums6
— Adam Spolane (@AdamSpolane) October 22, 2022
Coach Silas said Bruno's being out of the game (left knee soreness) in the 2nd half limited the Rockets ability to blitz Ja on the screens. Sengun isn't mobile enough and Jabari isn't used to it, yet.
— Kris M Gardner (@TheHRReview) October 22, 2022
Stephen Silas says he stopped and chatted with Ja Morant postgame.
Told the star point guard "you're where we want to be."
— Michael Shapiro (@mshap2) October 22, 2022
The young, scrappy Rockets pushed one of the best teams in the Western Conference, but ultimately came up a little short. Sounds like a good night for the rebuild
— Adam Spolane (@AdamSpolane) October 22, 2022
Jalen Green: I feel like I can compete with anybody out there.
— Kelly Iko (@KellyIko) October 22, 2022
Jalen Green: "There's no losses with this team. We're all in a rebuild right now. It's either a win or it's a learning lesson, so tonight was a learning lesson."
— Adam Spolane (@AdamSpolane) October 22, 2022
