Steven Adams of the Houston Rockets Photo: DARREN CARROLL
The Houston Rockets have opened a critical six-game home stand with a blowout win over the New Orleans Pelicans, notching their sixth win in their last eight home games.
The Rockets sit fifth in the Western Conference, and are one of four teams clustered behind the Oklahoma City Thunder near the top with the Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Lakers and Memphis Grizzlies also in the chase.
Houston will host the Orlando Magic on Tuesday, seeking to keep pace in pursuit of the second seed.
Houston continues to tinker with a two-big lineup to positive results.
In their 146-117 win over the Pelicans, centres Alperen Sengun and Steven Adams combined for 26 points, 13 rebounds, eight assists, four steals and four blocks.
Adams, who took eight rebounds, two assists and scored six points, typically replaces Sengun in the lineup, but when the Rockets struggled to contain the Mavericks' size during a road loss last month Houston coach Ime Udoka started playing Sengun and Adams together during key stretches.
The Rockets have leaned further into that gambit, occasionally adding 2.08m forward Jabari Smith Jr to the mix for additional rebounding and defensive heft. The Rockets remain in the early stages of examining this lineup wrinkle, but the progress they've made has increased the likelihood of Houston playing Sengun and Adams as a tandem.
"It's been good," Udoka said. "You can see that they are getting more comfortable. We like how they work together and just the size and physicality. A lot of benefits to it but the fact that it's worked really well and out of necessity in Dallas, it gives us another luxury lineup-wise, and when you pair it with Jabari at the three it's even bigger.
"Yeah, we like how it's looked and it's something we'll do going forward."
- Reuters / RNZ
