Rockets rain threes on Thunder, win 136-106

Well, that was fun.

There were no emotional storylines.

There was no roster speculation.

There was just the Houston Rockets raining three point fire on the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Rockets broke the franchise record for three point makes, with 28. They nearly tied the NBA record of 29. If the deep bench had shot it as well as the starters, and the second unit, the record could have been broken. There was no more Marc Jackson there to order intentional fouls to avoid his team having the dubious distinction of being the record-breaking 3pt victim.

There’s not much to say about this game other than it all went swimmingly.

The first quarter featured a scorching shooting performance that resulted in games with back-to-back 48pt scoring quarters from the Rockets. The Rockets did the opposite of their usual “Fall Behind Early, Come Roaring Back” of late. Tonight they tried “Come Out Roaring, Coast For Three Quarters”. It resulted in a pleasant and relaxing game for Rockets fans, even though the Thunder brought the lead down to around 15pts with some made shots, Rockets relaxation and free throw attempts. Despite these efforts, the lead only dropped by five from the first quarter, and the Rockets went into the second half up 19.

The second half featured more great shooting by the Rockets, and a good bit of defensive intensity. Mostly great shooting. The Rockets finished the game with 28 made 3pt shots, out of 52 attempts, for a blistering 54% 3pt shooting rate. Tonight it was a Rockets opponent experiencing a three point outburst, rather than the reverse Rockets fans typically expect.

The win brings the Rockets to north of .500, with a 10-9 record, and brings their win streak to six.

Just how crazy was the Rocket shooting?

All twelve of the Rockets, all their available players, attempted a 3pt shot.

All but two of those twelve MADE a 3pt shot. The only Rockets NOT to make a three pointer were Sterling Brown and Rockets Victory Cigar, Rodion Kurucs.

Other things to note:

Eric Gordon is playing really well. He’s not a point guard, but he’s a good player.

Mason Jones may be for real. As is Christian Wood. Jae’Sean Tate, Sterling Brown, David Nwaba also appear to be good. It’s looking like, despite the pain, this was a magnificent off-season for the Rockets front office, though Nwaba, to be fair, was signed last spring whilst recovering from injury.

At any rate, this is fantastic stuff by the Rockets right now, and it is, despite all expectation, a fun time to be a Rockets fan.

I propose we name the Rockets Franchise Three Point Record “The Marc Jackson Commemorative Trophy”.

Who would have thought that six weeks ago?