Rockets' Fall to Raptors Following Failed Comeback Attempt

The Houston Rockets battled back from a 22-point deficit but fell short of a comeback in Friday's road loss to the Toronto Raptors.

The Houston Rockets embarrassed the Toronto Raptors seven days ago in the comfort of their home inside the Toyota Center. One week removed from their 29-point victory, the Rockets sustained a 107-104 road loss to the Raptors.

Dillon Brooks scored 14 of his 20 points during the fourth quarter, which ignited a comeback attempt. He made three 3-point field goals during the final quarter. His last triple cut the Raptors' once-22-point lead to two (105-103) with 18.2 seconds left. They outscored Toronto 33-19 during the fourth quarter.

Raptors forward Scottie Barnes (4) drives to the net against Houston Rockets forward Cam Whitmore (7) during the first half at Scotiabank Arena / John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

Jabari Smith Jr. was the only starter who gave the Rockets positive contributions outside of Brooks. He finished the game with 12 points and 11 rebounds. However, Houston's starting five unit put on a horrific performance. 

The Rockets' best contributions came from their reserve unit, led by Cam Whitmore. He scored 17 points on 5 of 9 shooting in the first half. Unfortunately for Whitmore, a sprained right ankle sustained during the second quarter ended his night prematurely. Coach Ime Udoka said after the game that he did not know the severity of Whitmore's injury.

"I saw everything from them [the reserves]," Udoka said. "I love what they did. We need to have that urgency from everybody from the start. It's game 51, and we need to see some growth."

Aaron Holiday boosted Houston's subpar performance by adding 12 points in the loss, while Jeff Green finished with 10 off the bench.

Five players scored in double figures for the Raptors. Immanuel Quickley led the way with a game-high 25 points while shooting 4 of 9 from behind the arc. R.J. Barrett finished with 21 points, seven assists and five rebounds in the win.

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A homecoming for Fred VanVleet:

Although he did not play due to a left adductor strain, the game marked Fred VanVleet's first appearance inside Scotiabank Arena as an opponent. The Raptors greeted VanVleet with a tribute video. And during the morning shootaround, VanVleet said not playing in front of the fans hurt. 

After signing with the Raptors as an undrafted free agent in 2016, VanVleet became a champion (2019) and All-Star (2022) in Toronto. He averaged 14.6 points on 40.2 percent shooting from the field, 5.3 assists and 1.3 steals across 417 career games with the Raptors.

The Rockets were unable to take care of the ball:

The Rockets had a rough time trying to take care of the ball without their starting point guard. They committed 21 turnovers in the loss, which resulted in 29 additional points for the Raptors. Houston came into the game averaging 12.8 turnovers, the fifth lowest in the league.

Road struggles are starting to become unbearable:

The Rockets are 0-3 on their current four-game road trip. But more importantly, Houston remains one of the league's worst teams on the road. They are 5-19 away from the Toyota Center and have dropped seven of their last nine games.