NBA Cup Provides Important Opportunity for Rockets

Houston will gain valuable experience with games of more consequence.

Dec 1, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green (4) celebrates with forward Amen Thompson (1) after a play during the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The second annual run of the NBA Cup has given the Houston Rockets plenty of opportunities to play meaningful basketball against competitive teams. Not only have they felt some real competition, they’ve also found some success in the in-season tournament.

The Rockets won their group that featured several playoff contending teams, and one team that was just in the Western Conference Finals last season. They came away with solid results: blowout wins against the Clippers and the Trail Blazers, followed by an overtime win against Minnesota before a loss against the high-powered Kings.

Jabari Smith Jr. had arguably his best game of the season against the Clippers, scoring 28 points in a double-double effort. He also added two steals and hit five of his eight three-point attempts. 

Smith didn’t have the only strong effort against the Clippers, as Alperen Sengun finished with a triple-double and a team-leading plus/minus. Fred VanVleet added 10 assists in one of the team's best assist games.

The next NBA Cup game featured another dominant performance against the Trail Blazers. Dillon Brooks put up the team-high score with 28 points in his season-high performance. Tari Eason came in second in the scoring department, finishing with 22 points. This game proved that any player on the team is capable of leading the team offensively. That’s been a main feature of the team all season as they’ve depended on several different players on that side of the floor.

The game against Minnesota was the closest of the group stage, going into overtime after a tightly contested regulation. The Rockets also survived a near 30-point effort by superstar Anthony Edwards. Fred VanVleet led a trio of starters that finished with 20+ points, with him having 27 points, and Sengun and Brooks had 22 points each. Sengun also had another triple-double and finished with the team’s highest plus/minus.

The Kings brought the most difficult game against Houston and delivered the Rockets’ first loss of the NBA Cup. They finally got a quality offensive performance from Jalen Green, who led the team in scoring with 28 points, hitting five of his eight threes in one of his most efficient performances. Sengun finished with 22 points, but the team couldn’t survive 26 points from Domantas Sabonis and a strong performance from Malik Monk and De’Aaron Fox as well. Monk even finished with 12 assists as part of his night.

The Rockets lost their momentum in the fourth quarter, and despite efforts near the end to come back, they fell short for their first loss of the tournament.

The Rockets move into the elimination round with a strong record in competitive games against the Golden State Warriors, who they’ll likely jostle with for postseason positioning. The coaching staff will be looking for more positive performances throughout the rest of the regular season.

---

Want to join the discussion? Like Rockets on SI on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest Rockets news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.