A Big Fourth Quarter Could Break Jabari Smith Out of His Shooting Slump

The Houston Rockets started their five-game home stand on Tuesday after struggling on their most recent three-game road trip, losing every game by close margins because they were unable to make enough clutch plays down the stretch. The Rockets lost back-to-back games to the Portland Trailblazers and their second straight to the Sacramento Kings on Sunday night.

The latest road trip wraps up a tough stretch for the Rockets, who played 13 of their last 19 on the road and went only 9-10 during that time, and struggled in several major categories. Before the calendar flipped over to December, the Rockets were 13-4 and near the top in both offense and defense.

They also had a relatively light schedule during the first two months of the season, with multiple days off before games and no back-to-backs. That changed in December as the schedule caught up with the Rockets, and it showed in the win-loss column and especially in the shooting numbers.

The only players it didnt seem to effect was Kevin Durant who of course is one of the greatest shooters of all time and Amen Thompson who scores majority some time all of his points in a game near the basket. Everyone from Alperen Sengun to Josh Okogie and Reed Sheppard saw their numbers drop in the last month and half after hot starts to the season.

However one player saw his numbers dropped the most during this time frame after he started the season playing the best he had his entire career up until this point and that is Jabari Smith. Smith started the first two months of the season with career high in points and 3-point percentage as he seemed to benefit the most from the trade for Durant in the offseason.

That was until December, when he saw his 3-point percentage drop to 31 percent in the 19 games leading up to last night's win over the Chicago Bulls. Tuesday night's game did not start much better, as the Rockets struggled to pull away from the Bulls for most of the game, and Smith's struggles from 3-point range continued: he missed his first five 3-pointers, leaving him 1-22 before heading into the fourth quarter. That is when Smith finally broke out of his month-long slump.

Jabari Smith big fourth quarter leads to the Rockets first win in their last four games

The Rockets were in a back and forth game with the Bulls for most of the game and it continued into the fourth quarter. The Rockets actually saw their lead disappear as it had several times before in recent games and seemed they may be heading for loss number four in a row.

That's when Smith began his scoring in the fourth quarter with an aggressive drive to the basket that netted him two free throws. Smith was quiet for several minutes as both teams traded baskets, but after a Tre Jones layup that put the Bulls up 106-105 with under three minutes left, Smith would hit his first 3-pointer of the game and only second over the last several games to give the Rockets the lead

As time ran down and the Bulls tried to retake the lead Smith would make back-to-back baskets one a mid range jumper the other a 3-pointer to finally give the Rockets a comfortable lead and their first win in four games. Smith scored 10 points in the fourth quarter to help secure the victory as the Rockets went on to win 119-113.

It was the type of quarter that helps players get out of a shooting slump. Smith teammates continued to get him the ball despite his struggles which is something Smith mentioned after the game. The Rockets need Smith to get to the next level this season and Tuesday night's ten point fourth quarter may be the spark Jabari Smith needed.