HOUSTON (AP) — Jalen Green scored 26 points, Dillon Brooks had 23 before being ejected from the game and the Rockets earned their seventh straight victory, 127-117 over the Chicago Bulls on Thursday night.
Houston went 9-1 in March and is now just 2 1/2 games behind Golden State for the final play-in spot in the Western Conference. The Rockets’ seven-game winning streak is their longest since 2021.
With the Rockets leading 84-75 with 6:02 left in the third quarter, a foul by DeMar DeRozan on Green upset Brooks. DeRozan turned around and then elbowed Brooks in the chin, causing a melee on the field.
Upon review, DeRozan’s initial foul was ruled a flagrant foul 2 and he was ejected. Brooks received a technical foul and was ejected for his role in the melee.
Brooks left the game at that point with a team-leading 23 points on 10-of-13 shooting, while DeRozan came out with 16 points on just 4-of-15 shooting in 23 minutes.
After the delay, Houston finished the quarter strong to lead 105-94 and never looked back. The bench proved important for Houston, scoring 49 points, compared to just 28 from the Chicago bench.
Jock Landale scored 17, Aaron Holiday scored 15 and Jeff Green added 14, all coming off the bench for Houston. Amen Thompson had 15 points and eight rebounds.
For Chicago, Ayo Dosunmu led the way with 35 points on 13-of-18 shooting. Nikola Vučević scored 16 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for his 40th double-double of the season. Coby White returned to action after missing the last three games with a sprained right hip and scored 13 for the Bulls.
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