Any time the Houston Rockets enter the third quarter of a game and Steven Adams has been their best player, you can bet they are in trouble. The Rockets had five players in double figures but shot 37.6 percent from the field. Poor shooting is nothing new for this team, but if poor shooting isn’t counteracted with dominance on the boards and defense of the paint, then you get the result that the Rockets have achieved this time in back-to-back games in a loss to Golden State Warriors

The Rockets started the game off on the wrong foot as they had five points halfway through the first quarter, and it was an uphill battle most of the way. The bench unit came into play and provided a brief burst of energy in the second half of the quarter, giving the Rockets a 22-18 lead after one quarter. However, the Warriors outscored the Rockets by 10 in the second quarter and by one in the third. The Rockets couldn’t buy a basket and were outrebounded 54-45, collecting 11 offensive rebounds.

Jalen Green and Fred VanVleet provided much of what little offense the Rockets were able to muster in the third quarter and Alperen Sengun in the fourth, but they couldn’t stop the Warriors from scoring in the zone, which they did against them made kings on Tuesday.

Jonathan Kuminga dominated with 33 points on 13 of 22 shooting, including 3 of 6 from the three-point line. The Warriors shot an abysmal 66 percent from the free throw line, but the Rockets couldn’t capitalize on it. On two separate occasions in the fourth period, the Rockets got within one score, with the Warriors making a run each time to cut the lead back to seven points.

Alperen Sengun finished the game with 16 points on 7 of 15 shooting, eight rebounds and five assists, but his perimeter and perimeter defense left a lot to be desired and he was constantly beaten on the boards in critical situations. Jalen Green continued his up-and-down season with another poor offensive performance, shooting 4-of-16 and 0-of-4 from three. The only players who represented a positive plus/minus for the Rockets were Steven Adams, Reed Sheppard and Amen Thompson. Sheppard and Thompson combined to shoot 3-for-10 from the field.

It was a disappointing performance for the young Rockets, who have shown maturity and progress in many ways this season. However, they couldn’t avoid the disappointment that can often happen when facing a team whose main starters aren’t playing, especially when it comes to players like Stephen Curry and Draymond Green. This season, the team’s goal is not to lose such “disappointment” games, knowing that these types of losses are likely to keep them from making the play-ins and playoffs.

On the bright side, the Rockets have lost in a row for the first time in 23 games this season. It likely won’t be the last time, but the Rockets still have an opportunity to learn and get better. In the final game of this West Coast trip, they face the Los Angeles Clippers in LA before returning to Houston for a rematch with the Warriors in the quarterfinals of the Emirates NBA Cup.

As always, both games will be broadcast on Space City Home Network and the NBA Cup quarterfinals will also air on TNT. Rest assured we will be broadcasting the game right here on TDS. You can watch the game with your fellow Dream Shakers in playback mode, which you can always find in the TDS game thread.