The Houston Rockets picked up a composed 113-99 win over the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday night, dominating the fourth quarter to pick up their 40th win of the season. Despite inconsistent results, the Rockets proved they were a class above the Raptors tonight, who are the No. 5 seed in the East.
Unsurprisingly, the Rockets were led by Kevin Durant’s 29 points and seven rebounds (12-16 FG) while Jabari Smith Jr. contributed 23 points (8-14 FG) and four rebounds. Amen Thompson also crossed the 20-point barrier with 23 points (6-10 FG) and six assists.
The Raptors had a two-headed attack led by RJ Barrett’s 25 points (10-18 FG) and six rebounds alongside Scottie Barnes‘ 24 points (8-16 FG) and five rebounds. Brandon Ingram had an extremely disappointing night, scoring just nine points (3-12 FG) as the team’s No. 1 option on offense.
Let’s take a deeper look at why the Rockets picked up this win in a competitive clash between two Playoff-caliber teams.
1. Decisive 4th Quarter Action
The Rockets and Raptors had a pretty close clash through the first three quarters of the game, although the Rockets did control most of it. After a 29-29 first quarter, the Rockets outscored Toronto before halftime. The Raptors fought back to cut the lead to just three points going into the fourth quarter, but they got completely smothered offensively in the final quarter.
The Rockets started the quarter with a 19-4 run, effectively ending the contest with over seven minutes left in the final period. Houston played incisive basketball, attacking the paint as Raptors rim protector Jakob Poeltl missed the game due to injury. They only scored one three-pointer and one mid-range bucket in the final 12 minutes.
The Rockets executed the final quarter of the game like a high quality Playoff team, so coach Ime Udoka and the fans of the franchise can walk away with that performance with a smile on their face.
2. Playoff Rotations Reducing Margin For Error
The Rockets played an aggressive eight-man rotation in this game, not a common sight for a team with a month of action left in the regular season. While the Rockets have lost players like Steven Adams and Fred VanVleet to season-ending injuries, their tight rotation signifies that coach Udoka has identified the core group of players who will lead the team for most of the Playoffs.
Before garbage time substitutions were made, the Rockets relied on an eight-man unit with Durant, Smith, Thompson, Alperen Sengun, Tari Eason, Clint Capela, Reed Sheppard, and Dorian Finney-Smith. Players like Josh Okogie have dropped out of their core rotation, and it seems the Rockets have identified the group they can have the most success with.
Tonight’s game was a great reflection of what the Rockets can bring to the table with this highly dynamic eight-man core. All players ended the game with a positive net rating, with Eason (+17) leading them tonight. Durant had the worst of the group with a +7, but even that’s great considering the close margins of the game before the Rockets dominated the final 12 minutes.
3. Rockets’ Offensive Efficiency Was Hard To Beat
The Rockets haven’t had a consistently strong offense this season despite being led by a scorer like Durant. They had their fair share of fourth-quarter collapses this season when the offense would grow stagnant behind no true point guard on the roster since VanVleet’s injury. This was not the case tonight, as the Rockets managed to execute their offensive gameplan almost perfectly.
The Rockets shot 41-82 from the field (50.0 FG%) while selectively choosing to shoot only 24 three-pointers, sinking 10 of them as a unit (41.7 3PT%). It’s hard to beat any team when they have 50-40 splits as a unit over the course of a game, but Houston’s offensive efficiency, coupled with their strong defense, made this win possible.
The Raptors couldn’t maximize the opportunities they did create, shooting 34-78 from the field (43.6 FG%) and 9-36 from beyond the arc (25.0 3PT%). Despite being a team with multiple offensive weapons and a fast-paced system, the Rockets shut them down while playing a brand of basketball that put them out of reach.
4. Houston’s Decisive Advantage As Rebounders
The Rockets absolutely dominated the glass all night long in this game. They managed 52 rebounds compared to Toronto’s 30, with the offensive glass going 15-7 in Houston’s advantage. Not only were they consistently generating extra opportunities, but they were also ensuring the Raptors couldn’t generate any of their own with strong control over the glass, no matter who was on the court.
The main reasons for this rebounding performance came from Alperen Sengun grabbing 12 and Clint Capela coming off the bench to grab 11 in the minutes Sengun was off the floor. Going back to the point about the Rockets knowing their best rotation, this rebounding performance shows how their players can perfectly substitute for each other while ensuring not much is lost in certain key areas.
The Raptors didn’t have a true center on the court without Poeltl, and it was a disadvantage that the Rockets easily maximized.
5. Raptors Entered The Game Weak
We have been over how Houston has adjusted to losing key players like Fred VanVleet and Steven Adams for the rest of the reasons, but it doesn’t seem like the Raptors have been able to make those adjustments yet. Despite Poeltl playing just 29 games this season, he’s their only answer for traditional post-oriented centers, which the Rockets had two of with Sengun and Capela.
Due to Poeltl’s multiple absences over the season, the Raptors had found a stopgap solution, which included splitting center minutes between rookie Collin Murray-Boyles and veteran Sandro Mamukshvalli. However, Sandro was left alone for this clash as Boyles missed it with a left thumb sprain. As a result, Barnes and even Jonathan Mobgo had to play minutes at center and lose production to the mismatch.
Poeltl and Boyles weren’t the only big men they missed, as winter signing Trayce Jackson-Davis missed the contest with an injury of his own. These losses are hard to deal with against most teams, let alone a paint-dominant team like the Rockets. Toronto did their best to keep up, but Houston was a class apart tonight.
