Much-improved Rockets take hot streak into matchup with Lakers

The Houston Rockets have won 12 of their past 13 games and can’t even claim to be the hottest team in the NBA.

It’s not the Rockets’ fault that the Oklahoma City Thunder have dropped just one of their past 17 games, but Houston will look to continue its torrid play when it visits the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday night.

The Rockets (49-26) put a major whipping on the host Phoenix Suns Sunday night with a 148-109 victory. Second-place Houston now stands two games ahead of the third-place Denver Nuggets and 3 1/2 games in front of the fourth-place Lakers in the Western Conference playoff competition.

Houston lost 55 or more games in three consecutive seasons earlier this decade before finishing .500 last season in Ime Udoka’s first season as coach.

Now the Rockets are closing in on a 50-win campaign.

“I saw the improvements that we made in the last year,” Udoka said. “… We got the compete with everybody part out of the way last year. We knew we could do that. Now it was time to take another step and win these games against good teams.

“I’m not surprised by what we’re doing. We feel like we can be even better.”

Houston was plenty good while demolishing the Suns. The Rockets scored more than 30 points in every quarter — including 46 in the second — and shot 57.1 percent (56 of 98) from the field and 58.1 percent (18 of 31) from 3-point range.

The Rockets had a 32-8 edge in fast-break points and scored 34 points off 19 Phoenix turnovers.

Fourth-year pro Jalen Green scored 33 points and made four treys on Sunday. He’s excited that the playoffs are looming.

“It feels good, this is what I dreamed about and this is what I’ve wanted to do since I got here to Houston,” Green said. “I’m excited about it. Right now, it’s all about details and I think we’re executing that.”

This is the first of two times that the Rockets will visit the Lakers (45-29) down the stretch. Houston returns on April 11.

Earlier this season, the Rockets beat Los Angeles 119-115 on Jan. 5 in Houston.

The Lakers posted a 134-127 road victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday. It marked just their fifth win in the past 13 contests.

Guard Austin Reaves had 31 points and eight assists for his second straight 30-point outing. He said the players could feel the urgency after a last-second 119-117 loss to the Bulls on Thursday when Chicago’s Josh Giddey made a halfcourt shot.

“I think this was a big game for us in the sense of how we lost the other night,” Reaves said. “We hadn’t been playing great. So, coming into (the Memphis) game, it was obviously high intensity. It’s hard, the last game on a road trip because you’re pretty excited to go home. But for that three hours or whatever the game is, you got to lock in and try to put your best foot forward and win.”

Reaves has four 30-point outings this month while averaging 24.2 points, 5.6 assists and 5.3 rebounds.

Luka Doncic added 29 points and nine assists and LeBron James had 25 points and eight assists. James (left groin strain) is listed as probable for Monday.

The game against Houston is the first of a three-game homestand. The Golden State Warriors visit Thursday and the New Orleans Pelicans are in town Friday.

Los Angeles is just 2 1/2 games clear of the seventh-place Minnesota Timberwolves in the competition for a top-six playoff spot, with the Grizzlies and Warriors in between. So coach JJ Redick is uninterested in discussing how high the Lakers can finish.

“I want to make the playoffs — I don’t want to be in the play-in (tournament),” Redick said. “Until that is secured, the seeding thought won’t cross my mind.”

–Field Level Media