Marcus Smart Gets the Start and Helps Houston to Bounce-Back Win

The Houston Rockets came into last night’s Halloween game trying to avoid a nightmarish collapse after their undefeated start to the season. We saw them waste their fourth quarter lead in Dallas, and had to play again less than 24 hours later. To make matters worse, Houston had to play without the help of a few different rotational players. 

The same could be said about the Oklahoma City Thunder, as they just lost to the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday. They were also without Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams, and Cason Wallace.  

With Steven Adams still sidelined alongside Reed Sheppard and Fred VanVleet, Ime Udoka had an undermanned and unrested team at his disposal. That made his old friend, Marcus Smart, an absolute godsend last night. 

He was thrown into the starting lineup for the first time as a member of the Rockets, and wasted no time letting everyone know he was there. Smart scored Houston’s first bucket of the night, giving us a taste of what was to come in the near future.

In the immediate aftermath of that first triple, though, he managed to pick up a technical foul. Things were getting a little heated with the scoreboard stuck at 3-4 through the first two and a half minutes. 

Even level-headed Jabari Smith Jr. picked up a technical foul of his own early in the game. That might’ve been just the spark the team needed, as they jumped out to a lead and never looked back right afterwards. 

Marcus Smart spearheaded that run, knocking down another three before getting a steal, then getting fouled on his third shot from distance. Now with nine points after making all three free-throws, he was feeling himself. 

On the very next possession, he hit his third three already, giving Houston their first double-digit lead. At 24-14, Smart’s 12 points on perfect shooting was enough to compete with OKC by himself. There were still more than four and a half minutes remaining in the quarter, too. 

He got hot right at the optimal moment for this team, putting up big numbers in his first start of the season. Playing nearly 36 minutes and scoring 24 points on 70-percent shooting is the type of boost they needed for a bounce-back win. 

With Fred VanVleet slated to miss one game in every back-to-back scenario, this is exactly why Rafael Stone went out to get a veteran guard to carry the load. It’s even more valuable when Reed Sheppard is, and that was on full display last night. 

More from RocketsRoundtable:   

The Houston Rockets Cruise to Victory Over the Oklahoma City Thunder

Mavericks Hand the Rockets Their First Defeat of the Season

Takeaways From Rockets Loss to Mavericks in NBA Cup Opener

Rockets Viewed As Heavy Favorites to Win Their NBA Cup Group