On the morning of February 7, Beijing time, the Rockets played away against the Pacers. With Van Vleet out injured for this game, Udoka sent Amen Thompson as the starting playmaker. Although the Rockets got off to a good start, they still couldn't withstand the Pacers' offense and eventually lost. However, Udoka has a big problem with Jalen Green's use, and if Green is given a minute in the morning in the final quarter, the result may not be the same.
After the start of the first quarter, the Rockets played well, frequently taking advantage of Green and Shin Jing's pick-and-rolls, as well as Jabari Smith Jr.'s misplacement on the inside. The Pacers took advantage of the loopholes in the Rockets' interior defense and frequently attacked the basket to score. The Rockets got off to a leading start. Jalen Green scored 3+1 to help the Rockets lead by 5 points at 26:21. However, as soon as Holiday came on the court, he made mistakes on both ends of the floor. The White Devils scored seven straight points after coming out, and Jalen Green countered with a one-handed dunk. However, the defensive end is really poor, and it can't limit the opponent's attack at all. At the end of the first quarter, the Rockets trailed 39-41.
After the start of the second quarter, the Rockets sounded the horn of a counterattack and played a wave of 8:1 mini-climax, bringing the score to 48:41. Old Green played 2+1 strongly. The Pacers steadily chased the score. Whitmore received a pass from Green Sr. and scored for a dunk. Smith Jr. hit back-to-back shots. The Rockets played lively, but the defense still leaked, which made Udoka very unhappy. Subsequently, the Rockets sent Shin Jing, but the Pacers played 7-0 to gradually narrow the difference. Jalen Green scored on a driving layup. The Rockets' defense was so poor that they were hit by the Pacers for another three-pointer. Dillon scored four points in a row. Shin Kyung dreams scored under the basket. At halftime, the Rockets led 75-68 on the road.
At the beginning of the third quarter, Jalen Green scored on a layup, and Haliburton hit a shot. Shin Kyung singled out Turner to make a foul and hit both free throws, but Turner responded with a three-pointer. The Rockets widened the gap to 10 points, but because of poor defense, they were quickly chased to only 2 points. The Rockets' defense has become a big problem, leaking people on the outside, and losing rebounds on the inside, so it's too difficult to win. Amen Thompson missed the dribble, and the Pacers hit a three-pointer to overtake the score. Immediately afterwards, the old Green was fouled again, which was difficult to do, and he was the master who could only play downwind. Before the end of the third quarter, the Pacers played 2+1, and at the end of the third quarter, the Rockets fell behind 99:106. The single quarter was beaten 38:24, which is too bad!
Recently, the Rockets' hard work has also been much worse, as long as they are overtaken after taking the lead, they will basically be explained. In the fourth quarter, if the Rockets still play like this, I'm afraid it would be good to be able to keep the current point difference. In the fourth quarter, the Rockets still couldn't hold on, allowing the Pacers to play casually, and the point difference quickly reached double digits, and their offense was out of order. Amen Thompson missed two free throws again, and his shooting practice was probably wasted, followed by another random pass that was broken. Jalen Green hit a three-pointer after coming on, followed by a layup and a foul and missed a free throw. Amen scored back-to-back baskets. But the return defense was too slow, and another foul gave Siakam two points. Green hits from mid-range. After Green came on the court, the Rockets recovered some more scores, and in the final minute, the Rockets trailed 124-129. But the interior defense was too poor, and the Pacers grabbed the rebound in the front court and made two fouls and hit one of the two free throws. Green hit another three-pointer to keep the game in suspense and three points away. The Pacers hit an offensive shot, and on the last offense, Smith Jr. and Dillon of the Rockets missed consecutive three-pointers, and finally the Rockets lost to the Pacers 129-132.