In a game that appeared to be in the bag, the Houston Rockets managed to drop their first contest of the season against the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night. Here are the three takeaways from the team’s most recent outing.
In a contest where the Houston Rockets held a 12-point lead in the second half, the Memphis Grizzlies would catch fire in the game’s final frame and never look back with a hard-fought 98-90 win at the Toyota Center Monday night.
Marc Gasol scored 26 points, while Mike Conley poured in 17 points of his own for Memphis, to help hand the Rockets their first loss of the season and move to 3-0 for the first time since the 2014-15 regular season.
With less than three minutes to go in the fourth quarter, tempers flared on the floor after Grizzlies guard Mario Chalmers fell and tripped James Harden, who then went on to shove Chalmers to the ground as he tried to get up.
After a lengthy review, each player received a technical, while Harden was called for an offensive foul that managed to change the course of the ballgame.
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Forward James Ennis III converted a basket on the following play en route to drawing the foul, and hit the go-ahead free throw to put the Grizzlies out in front. This was followed by Conley, who nailed a huge 3-pointer of his own immediately after a Clint Capela jam to push the lead out to four as the Rockets managed to shoot a mere 2-for-12 down the stretch.
Eric Gordon, who was presented with his Sixth Man award from prior to the contest, led Houston with a game-high 27 points and seven assists. Harden finished with 22 points, eight assists and five rebounds.
Here are the three major takeaways from the Rockets’ most recent performance.