Houston guard Jalen Green was once again the fulcrum of another stellar offensive performance for the Rockets on Saturday, and his coach says the recent outburst has a lot to do with Green’s decision-making.
Green had 41 points — one shy of his career high — on 15-of-22 shooting in the Rockets’ 147-119 win over the Utah Jazz. Houston (35-35) extended its winning streak to eight games and improved to 10-1 this month. Green has been central to the Rockets’ resurgence.
Houston, which hosts the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday, has scored at least 125 points in three straight games for the first time since the 1979-80 season. The last five wins have been by double digits.
The Rockets are outscoring their opponents by 14.6 points during their winning streak. Green, whose confidence in his shooting is evident, has become the engine that propels Houston to new heights.
The third-year player is averaging 27.8 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.5 assists in March. He’s shooting 51.4 percent overall and 41.7 percent on 3-pointers over that span.
“I think the shot recognition is really improved,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said of Green, who shot 41.1 percent overall and 30.7 percent from deep in 54 games before the All-Star break. “And also, you just have to have a next play, next play mentality if you miss one or a few. Now, I think his recognition of what teams are doing (defensively) is different.
“It’s not really about the fact that he didn’t shoot well earlier. He let some open shots go by or realized what they were doing a little slower, and he’s really on top right now. moment. So I love seeing that, I’m happy for him and obviously it gives our team an incredible boost.
Meanwhile, Portland (19-52), in its 114-111 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Saturday, became the second team to start five rookies since NBA scoring began tracking starters during the season 1970-71.
The Trail Blazers have lost six straight games and 10 of their last 12.
With Deandre Ayton (elbow), Jerami Grant (hamstring), Anfernee Simons (knee) and Matisse Thybulle (ankle) unavailable, the Trail Blazers started Toumani Camara, Kris Murray, Duop Reath and Rayan Rupert alongside Scoot Henderson, the third overall pick. the 2023 draft.
Despite their inexperience, the Trail Blazers were competitive throughout the game. Portland coach Chauncey Billups simplified the offense against the Nuggets, allowing his team to work in just two sets to focus on the game instead of overthinking.
This approach has paid off. And even though the Trail Blazers were guilty of several critical turnovers late, the rookie experience gave the team something to build on.
“More opportunities,” Billups said. “You look at the turnovers we’ve had over time…in a normal situation they wouldn’t be in this position. So they have an opportunity more than anything with the veterans not being there.
“But it’s also because that’s how you learn. I’m sure that when we give them this opportunity again, they will think about it and they will try to improve over time.”
