HOUSTON (OnSI)- The Rockets are 4-0 for the first time in 12 years after Monday’s 120-110 win over the Hawks. After trailing by three at halftime, the Rockets took control late in the third quarter and opened the fourth quarter with an 18-8 burst.
Here are three takeaways from an impressive home win:
Defense picks up the slack
Led by 15 points from CJ McCollum and 14 points from Jalen Johnson, the Hawks scored 66 points in the first half. Atlanta shot 49% as a team. McCollum was 6 of 8 from the field, while Johnson was only 3 of 8 but made 7 of 8 free throws.
“It felt like we were just following them around,” Rockets head coach Ime Udoka said. “Didn’t bring a lot of physicality to it. Not a lot of communication at times. Losing McCollum and certain guys in transition, getting wide open looks. It was a point of emphasis at halftime.”
The Hawks scored just 19 points on 32% shooting in the third quarter, and 44 points on 37% shooting for the half. McCollum finished with five points on 2 of 8 shooting after halftime, while Johnson was just 2 of 6.
Udoka attributed the defensive improvement to simply getting back to basics.
“Went back to more traditional coverage. Put (Alperen Sengun) on the five, and I think that helped us,” Udoka said.
Alperen Sengun dominates the paint
Sengun drained a three on his very first shot attempt of the night. All 14 of his shots that followed came from the paint, and the Rockets center converted on 10 of them. Against the Hawks, Sengun finished with 29 points, 9 rebounds, 9 assists, and 6 steals.
“He was huge,” Udoka said. “He carried us through a good stretch of the third. Really got himself going. Six steals, and he was all over the place. He was a dog down there.”
Sengun is averaging 24.5 points on 58% shooting through the first four games of the season. He’s shooting 77% inside the restricted area, after converting on 68% and 65% on those shots the last two seasons.
“It helps that we have more spacing around him,” Rockets forward Kevin Durant said. “But teams are playing him 1-on-1 in the post, at the elbow thinking that they can stop him. They must’ve read a lot of bad articles about him this summer. They feel like they can get a stop on him 1-on-1, and we love that.”
Rockets guard Fred VanVleet joked his return is another reason for Sengun’s hot start, and he isn’t wrong. Without VanVleet, Sengun would have to initiate offense himself. Now, VanVleet can initiate the Rockets offense, which allows Sengun to focus on getting to his spots.
“Last year I had to do all that stuff,” Sengun said. “Now I can get the rebound, give it to Fred, run and get to my spot. We play faster too. I don’t have to run back and forth, back and forth. I get the rebound, we push the ball.
“I save a lot of energy with that, too.”
Transition brilliance
The Rockets finished with nine fast break points against the Hawks on Saturday night, but they should’ve had more.
“We didn’t run out in transition as much as we should have,” Durant said.
The Rockets finished with 26 fast break points on Monday, and are averaging 21.5 fast break points per game, third most in the league, after averaging 14 last season. The Hawks only had 13 turnovers, but 11 came off steals, and the Rockets took advantage when they could.
“Those live ball turnovers, we’re getting out (in transition),” Udoka said. “That was another emphasis of ours, how we were poor at times in transition in the past and kind of cleaning those up, but I just think it’s a result of guys being more confident with the handle and the pass, and it feels like we just have more options as far as leading the break, playing with that fast pace, and our guys are getting out running.”
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