Rockets Sustain Season Opening Loss To Hawks

Competitive but not complete, the Houston Rockets dropped their season opener to the Atlanta Hawks Wednesday night.

ATLANTA — The Houston Rockets began the 2022-23 campaign the same way the previous season ended.

Behind 16 points from second-year prospect Jalen Green, the Rockets sustained a 117-107 loss to the Atlanta Hawks Wednesday night inside the State Farm Arena.

With the loss to the Hawks, the Rockets have dropped five consecutive opening-night games. Houston's last victory to open the season came in October of 2017 when the Rockets recorded a 122-121 road victory against the Golden State Warriors. 

 Jabari Smith Jr. returned to the Rockets' starting lineup for his official NBA debut. Smith scored 17 points after missing two consecutive weeks due to an ankle injury.

Tari Eason scored eight points and pulled down seven rebounds in his first official NBA game off the bench.

Kevin Porter Jr. scored the first two baskets of the season for the Rockets, as Houston took an early 16-12 lead over Atlanta. He finished the game with 21 points in the loss.

But similar to last season, the Hawks destroyed the Rockets with their pick-and-roll offense headlined by John Collins. Collins scored 15 of his game-high 24 points during the first half, as the Hawks took a 59-50 lead over the Rockets into halftime.

After winning the third quarter by one point (19-18), Houston entered the fourth quarter trailing Atlanta 84-80.

The Rockets trailed the Hawks 93-90 midway through the fourth quarter before a costly turnover by Josh Christopher led to an easy dunk attempt by Dejounte Murray. Christopher's turnover killed the offensive momentum built early in the fourth quarter, as the Hawks went on a 10-2 run to take control of the game.

Murray scored 20 points in his debut for the Hawks, while Trae Young added 23 points in the win. 

Following the loss, the Rockets will return home for their first home game of the season in a southwest division match against the Memphis Grizzles. Tip-off is slated for 7 P.M. inside the Toyota Center. 

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You can follow Coty M. Davis on Twitter at @CotyDavis_24

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