Rockets fall again, lose 118-113 to 76ers

The Houston Rockets lost their seventh straight contest tonight, falling to the Philadelphia 76ers in the the Daryl Morey Classic 118-113.

Houston fell behind big early and closed the gap late, but the lack of Christian Wood, Victor Oladipo, and P.J. Tucker proved too much of an obstacle to overcome, as the Rockets tumble down to 11-17 on the season and now hold the the sixth-worst record in the NBA.

John Wall once again led the way for the Rockets, going for 28 points, 3 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 steals — a heck of a night for my fantasy team — but not enough to lead the Rockets past one of the Eastern Conference’s top teams.

Houston never led in this one, but that was essentially the expectation coming in, and this game was mostly decided in the first half, and that’s likely to continue to be the case as long as this already moderately talented Houston roster is missing so many pieces, making each night a struggle for a team that relies so much on chemistry and guile to win games.

In addition to Wall, the Rockets also got 19 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks from DeMarcus Cousins, 19 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals from Jae’Sean Tate, 17 points and 6 assists from Eric Gordon, who was a surprise play after being listed as doubtful before the game, and 11 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals from Ben McLemore off the bench.

The 76ers had a cadre of players have big nights, with Joel Embiid leading the way with a near triple double, finishing with 31 points, 11 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 steals, and a block. Seth Curry backed that up with 25 points, 5 assists, and 2 steals, while Tobias Harris finished with 24 points, 15 rebounds, and 5 assists to round out a big three for Philly.

Danny Green also had 12 and Tyrese Maxey had 10 points off of the bench to round out the double-figure scorers for the 76ers, and the win solidifies their current place at the top of the Eastern Conference.

The Rockets have to get some semblance of health before we can expect to start to see them win again, but by that time, it very well could be too late and tank city (even inadvertently) could be on the way.

Houston is scheduled to return to action on Friday night at home against the Dallas Mavericks, but with a disaster currently unfolding in the state of Texas, who knows if things will go off as normal.

I wish all my fellow Rockets fans well, and I hope you are all staying warm and safe. The Rockets sucking are low on the priority pole right now, and as long as you all remain tip-top through this, we all live to fight another day.

Thanks to those of you who still made it to TDS and for those of you who didn’t, we hope to see you back here safe and sound very soon.