Rookie forward Jabari Smith Jr. continued his resurgence for the Rockets in a 119-111 loss (box score) to the Bulls on Saturday night at Toyota Center. Chicago improved to 31-36 with the come-from-behind win, while Houston dropped to an NBA-worst 15-52 in defeat.
Smith led the Rockets with 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 2 blocks, shooting 8-of-14 overall (57.1%) and 2-of-5 on 3-pointers (40.0%).
Zach LaVine led the Bulls with 36 points and 9 rebounds on 14-of-26 shooting (53.8%), including 3-of-8 on 3-pointers. Veteran star DeMar DeRozan added 27 points and 7 rebounds on 9-of-21 shooting (42.9%) and 2-of-3 from 3-point range (66.7%).
Beyond Smith, other Houston players in double figures included:
- Jalen Green: 18 points, 7 assists; 7-of-14 shooting (50.0%), 3-of-7 on 3-pointers (42.9%)
- KJ Martin: 16 points, 6-of-11 shooting (54.5%), 2-of-4 on 3-pointers (50.0%)
- Kevin Porter Jr.: 15 oints, 4 rebounds, 4 assists; 5-of-13 shooting (38.5%), 2-of-7 on 3-pointers (28.6%)
- Tari Eason: 12 points, 4 rebounds; 4-of-4 on 3-pointers
Scroll on for highlights, analysis and postgame interviews. Next up for Houston, as its six-game homestand continues, is Monday’s matchup versus Boston. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Central.
Highlights
Analysis and Interviews
Jabari is starting to find his spots on the floor and you can tell he is getting comfortable. He had 20 points and 10 rebounds in the loss. #Sarge #Rockets https://t.co/rSRWHE69sY
— #SARGE (@BigSargeSportz) March 12, 2023
19-year old rookie Jabari Smith Jr. is clearly starting to gain confidence. 20-10 tonight. His last 5 games with the #Rockets:
17.6 ppg | 54.2% FG | 45.5% 3P | 82.4% FT | 7.2 rebounds | 1.2 steals pic.twitter.com/wMBkkvJUkE
— ClutchFans (@clutchfans) March 12, 2023
Rockets have missed their past six shots with three turnovers since leading by four. Bulls go up nine with 2:06 left on a 13-0 run.
— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) March 12, 2023
It is an insane amount of Bulls fans here tonight. I was looking around to see if Jordan came out of retirement.
— Lachard Binkley (@BinkleyHoops) March 12, 2023
#Rockets didn't win but we got another good game from Jabari Smith 20pts & 10rbs and I am good.
— Chris A. White 🐻 (@fyrebear) March 12, 2023
Not sure what happened to these guys here in the 4th, but it was one poor decision after another, everyone made some very bad mistakes
— Abel (@AbelGe87) March 12, 2023
With 20 points tonight, Jabari Smith Jr. has now been the #Rockets leading scorer in back-to-back games.
— Jackson Gatlin (@JTGatlin) March 12, 2023
I asked Coach Silas what he saw from the team in the first 3 quarters when
the Rockets were moving the ball.Coach Silas praises Sengun despite the loss.
“He stayed with the game. He was in the pick and roll, he caught it in the paint, he made plays for his teammates” pic.twitter.com/mzYajcwU5Y
— Lachard Binkley (@BinkleyHoops) March 12, 2023
Stephen Silas: "We didn't have very much poise down the stretch, and sometimes poise is is gained through experience, but we've been talking a lot about poise, and we didn't show much in the fourth. I was disappointed."
— Adam Spolane (@AdamSpolane) March 12, 2023
Jabari Smith Jr on the Rockets making young mistakes in crunch time: "We're 70 games in. I feel like experience can't be excused for us not being able to finish the game when we're up four with five minutes left."
— Adam Spolane (@AdamSpolane) March 12, 2023
