While some of the most prominent teams quickly surged to the top of the Western Conference’s leaderboard at the outset of the regular season, the Houston Rockets were left at the bottom, as they got off to a poor start and recorded three straight losses to the Orlando Magic, San Antonio Spurs, and Golden State Warriors.
And their reputation further plummeted when, in their most recent game, Rockets star small forward Dillon Brooks was embarrassed by Warriors’ Stephen Curry while attempting to guard him. The video went viral on social media, and Stephen A. Smith even chimed in on the incident and said that Curry had made Brooks look “silly and foolish.”
STEPH COOKED DILLON BROOKS 😳 pic.twitter.com/WL2SatOXqY
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 30, 2023
The Warriors trounced the Houston Rockets by a score of 106-95. However, little did anyone know that the team would not lose again for the next five games.
Rockets turns tables, records a 5-win streak
Immediately after they suffered an embarrassing defeat from the Warriors, the Rockets went on to their next game with the Charlotte Hornets and recorded their first win of the season, prevailing with a 128-119 victory. Jalen Green and Fred VanVleet both led the win with 23 and 22 points, respectively.
Brooks, on the other hand, improved on his prior performance in the Warriors game (12 points, 2 assists, and 4 rebounds) and finished with 20 points, 5 assists, and 3 rebounds in his 38 minutes against the Hornets.
They recorded their next two wins against the Sacramento Kings and finished the games with a 107-89 and 122-97 victories, respectively.
The Rockets then continued their winning streak and recorded a shocking win over the LA Lakers with a 34-point difference, 128-94.
Finally, they asserted their dominance once again on court when they faced the New Orleans Pelicans and recorded a 104-101 victory.
This brought their teams’ record to 5-3, climbing through the Western Conference rankings and landing on the fourth spot, behind only the Nuggets (8-1), Mavericks (7-2), and Minnesota Timberwolves (6-2).
The Houston Rockets:
5 game winning streak
6th in the NBA in NetRtg
6th in the NBA in 3PT%
8th in the NBA in DefRtg pic.twitter.com/HWb9KFXkcA— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) November 11, 2023
News of their latest feat quickly gained traction on social media, with many fans claiming that it’s all because of their coach, Ime Udoka. Appointed in April of this year, Udoka has elevated the Rockets this season, demonstrating the value of his expertise as a coach once more.
Udoka was famously known for bringing the Boston Celtics to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2010. And now fans are anticipating whether he can emulate this achievement once again with the Rockets.
Cover Photo: YouTube