While a nine-game winning streak propelled Houston to second place in the Western Conference standings, it didn’t create enough of a cushion over the small handful of teams also vying for the coveted second seed in the West for the Rockets to feel comfortable.
Not only did the Rockets’ 116-111 home loss to the Denver Nuggets on Sunday snap their streak, it narrowed their lead over Denver to one game in the chase for the No. 2 seed. The Rockets will host the Nuggets in their regular-season finale on April 13 with the winner set to secure the season series.
First, though, Houston will host the streaking Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday.
The Rockets (46-26) finished the weekend two games up on fifth-place Memphis in the loss column. With four teams — the Los Angeles Lakers included — bunched so closely in the standings, Houston is pursuing multiple objectives as the regular season draws to an end.
Their first and foremost goal is to enter the playoffs healthy. In concert with that is maintaining the level of play that lifted the Rockets to their enviable position in the postseason picture.
“Health and good basketball,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said. “Continue to play at a high level, guard the way we have lately, and then improve offensively. We’ve seen through the year the shooting numbers have gone up. Rebounds have stayed constant. If we can increase our pace overall, defense to offense, just continue to harp on those things. Those were some of our focal points coming into the season and we’ve achieved some but some we need to improve on as well.
“But health and playing the right way at the right time is what’s most important.”
Jalen Green poured in 30 points in the loss to Denver, and Alperen Sengun posted a triple-double of 17 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists.
The Hawks (35-36) continued their torrid shooting of late, producing a 64.9 effective field goal percentage in their 132-119 home victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday. The Hawks are shooting 55.3 percent from the field during their three-game winning streak, reflecting an offense that has settled in following significant roster changes made at the trade deadline early last month.
“We were getting open shots earlier in the season,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said. “I think we led the league in the qSQ (quantified shot quality) rating. We were getting good looks. But it’s affirming I think when the ball goes in. Guys understand some of the things that we’re doing. There’s a purpose to it. And they’ve been embracing that.”
Three Hawks — Trae Young, rookie Zaccharie Risacher and Georges Niang — scored 20-plus points against Philadelphia.
Atlanta has won seven of nine and is making a late-season surge to escape the play-in tournament and perhaps qualify for the postseason. That is a modest surprise given that the Hawks were forced to reshape their rotation on the fly.
“I just want us to keep getting better,” Snyder said. “I think we’ve done a lot of good things, I just couldn’t say one thing. This is not a time for us to feel good about a winning streak. This is the time for us to continue to try to dig in and get better. The team is playing hard and playing hungry.”
