Just when most people who follow the National Basketball Association thought the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers would safely qualify for the 2024 NBA Play-In Tournament, the consensus now is simply not so fast. Out of nowhere, the Houston Rockets have now won 10 straight games, are the hottest team in the entire league, and now find themselves only three and a half games back of the ninth place Lakers in the NBA and a single game back of the 10th place Warriors.
The Rockets’s latest win was a 132-126 overtime victory on Wednesday over the Oklahoma City Thunder. It should be noted that OKC is currently among the NBA’s elite at 50 wins and 22 losses, but were clearly missing their star Canadian Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who was out with a quad injury.
The Rockets were led in scoring by shooting guard Jalen Green of Merced, California (37 points). He was followed by small forward Amen Thompson of San Leandro, California (25 points), Canadian Dillon Brooks of Mississauga, Ontario (20 points), power forward Jabari Smith Jr. of Fayetteville, Georgia (16 points), and Fred VanVleet of Rockford, Illinois (13 points). Green and Thompson each had double doubles, as Green had 10 rebounds, and Thompson (pictured above) had 15 boards.
During the streak, Houston has improved from a record of 27 wins and 35 losses to 37 wins and 35 losses. In addition to beating the Thunder, Houston won 123-107 over the Portland Trail Blazers on March 8, 112-104 over the Sacramento Kings on March 10, 103-101 over the San Antonio Spurs on March 12, 135-119 over the Washington Wizards on March 14, 117-103 over the Cleveland Cavaliers on March 16, 137-114 over the Wizards on March 19, 127-117 over the Chicago Bulls on March 21, 147-119 over the Utah Jazz on March 23, and 110-92 over the Trail Blazers on March 25.
