The Rockets Can Win Ugly When Needed

The Houston Rockets' identity starts with their defense. They're known as a team that wins using physical defense to slow down opposing scoring attacks. However, this means they're sometimes involved in ugly games when their offense is stuck in the mud. Their contest against the Cleveland Cavaliers was an example, but the Rockets proved they can still win games against the best teams even when the results aren't aesthetically pleasing.

It took a bit of fortune for the Rockets to hold on to the win against the Cavaliers. Cleveland's Darius Garland, a 90 percent free throw shooter this year, earned three free throws after an ill-advised foul by Tari Eason with just over two seconds left. Converting all three shots would give Cleveland a one-point lead. The officials upgraded Eason's foul to a flagrant penalty, giving Cleveland the possession after the foul shots.

Garland missed two of his three attempts, and Donovan Mitchell couldn't convert the last-second attempt in the corner as the Rockets stole an improbable one-point victory.

While the game featured a dramatic ending, the events leading to the fateful foul shots display Houston's resilience when things aren't working to plan.

Things started according to plan for Houston. The Rockets went into halftime with a lead and had a 13-point advantage with 11 minutes left in the fourth quarter. The next nearly seven minutes was one of Houston's worst stretches in weeks as they went scoreless and allowed Cleveland to score 19 unanswered points.

Fred VanVleet stepped in when the Rockets needed him most, hitting back-to-back triples to tie the game and give Houston new life. VanVleet was patient with his offense, letting Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun attempt to play through slow nights and intervening when his offense was necessary.

His 26 points were huge for the Rockets who were uncharacteristically sloppy with the ball. VanVleet had a team-leading six turnovers himself. Houston turned it over 22 times, the most it's had in five games. Houston benefited from an equally uncharacteristic shooting night from the Cavaliers. The Rockets held Cleveland to 42 percent from the field and 31 percent from deep. Those numbers are a steep drop from their season averages: nearly 50-40 splits from the field and the three-point line respectively.

Houston's defense deserves credit for Cleveland's tough shooting night. The bench provided a spark on that end along with strong effort on the boards.

Tari Eason nearly made a fatal mistake to end the game, but he and Cam Whitmore were a large part of Houston's victory. Steven Adams dominated the glass on both ends in his limited minutes.

Eason and Whitmore had a team-high plus/minus of +19 and +13 respectively. They hit five combined threes and made big plays on both sides of the ball. Eason's mistake at the game was inexcusable, but it's something he's likely to remember for next time; especially if Head Coach Ime Udoka has anything to say about it.

He'll learn the lesson the easy way as the Rockets held on to win anyway. Despite some sloppy, physical, and downright ugly play, Houston proved it can win against the best teams even when it's having a bad night.

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