HOUSTON — — Jalen Green had 26 points and 11 rebounds, and the Houston Rockets beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 117-103 on Saturday for their fifth straight victory.
Jabari Smith Jr. added 20 points, Amen Thompson had 18 and Fred VanVleet finished with 13 points and 16 assists for the Rockets, who made 15 3-pointers and outscored Cleveland 56-46 in the paint.
Green added four assists while hitting 4 of 9 from 3.
Houston led 70-54 at halftime and entered the fourth quarter with a 25-point lead.
The Rockets have won seven of their last eight games, finding themselves three games behind the Golden State Warriors for the final Western Conference play-in spot.
Caris LeVert scored 21 points for Cleveland. Georges Niang had 14 and Donovan Mitchell added 13.
Mitchell was playing his second game after missing seven games due to a bruised left knee. Mitchell appeared to have a bloody nose in the second half and sat much of the fourth quarter. The Cavs were without Max Strus (sprained right knee) and Evan Mobley (sprained left ankle).
Cavs veteran center Tristan Thompson has returned following a 25-game suspension from the NBA for violating the league’s anti-drug policy by testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs. Thompson had five points and five rebounds in 16 minutes.
Cleveland hasn’t won consecutive games since Feb. 25-27, going 4-6 since then. The Cavs fell one game behind Milwaukee for second place in the Eastern Conference.
FOLLOWING
Cavaliers: At Indiana Monday night.
Rockets: Visit Washington Tuesday night.
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