<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/houston-rockets/rockets-news-demarcus-cousins-gives-jalen-green-flowers-game-2');   ga('set', 'title', 'DeMarcus Cousins gives Rockets’ Jalen Green his flowers after Game 2');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Green-celebrates.jpg"><figcaption>Troy Taormina-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>DeMarcus Cousins gives Rockets’ Jalen Green his flowers after Game 2</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-24T10:57:58-07:00">April 24th, 10:57am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-24T10:57:58-07:00">April 24th, 10:57am</time><address><a>Jackson Stone</a>Jackson Stone is a Mercer University senior from Atlanta on track to graduate with a BA in communications. A lifelong sports lover, Jackson is a die-hard fan of all Atlanta teams. He joined ClutchPoints in 2023.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Houston Rockets</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>On Wednesday evening, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/houston-rockets/rockets-news-ime-udoka-takes-jab-warriors-chippy-antics-game-2-blowout">Houston Rockets tied up</a> their first round series with the Golden State Warriors as the series shifts to the Bay Area. While the big story coming out of this one was an injury to Warriors star Jimmy Butler, the Rockets got a much-needed 38-point <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/houston-rockets/rockets-news-jalen-green-makes-honest-admission-on-first-taste-of-playoff-basketball">performance from shooting guard Jalen Green</a>, who bounced back from a rough Game 1 with an epic display.</p><p>Green had come under heavy criticism for his seven-point showing on Sunday evening to open the series, but he’s now feeling the love after eviscerating the Warriors’ defense Wednesday night. Recently, former Warriors big man DeMarcus Cousins <a href="https://x.com/ClutchPoints/status/1915449309878690038" rel="noopener">took to the</a> “Run It Back” show to give Green his flowers.</p><p>“The scary part about it is… He’s still learning how to play this game. He’s still not a finished product… Once he finds consistency, he’s gonna be a star in this league,” said Cousins.</p><p>Every aspect of Green’s deep scoring bag was on display in Game 2, including high-flying dunks, effortless three balls, and picturesque midrange jumpers.</p><p>Green also got plenty of help from his Rockets teammates, who collectively played much more efficient basketball than they did in Game 1.</p><h2><b>An intriguing series out west</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Jalen-Green.jpg"><figcaption>Troy Taormina-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The biggest question heading forward in this series regards the status of Butler, who took a hard fall on his tailbone in the first half of Game 2 after being run into by Rockets forward Amen Thompson. Rockets and Warriors fans disagree on whether Thompson was pushed into Butler by Warriors forward Draymond Green or whether the contact occurred on his own volition.</p><p>In any case, if Butler were to miss time, it would give the Rockets a major opportunity to regain home court advantage in this series after they relinquished it in Game 1. The Warriors’ offense seemed to fall off a cliff once Butler went back to the locker room, forcing head coach Steve Kerr to use a Motley crew of untested lineups that predictably didn’t produce at a high clip.</p><p>If Jalen Green can continue his sizzling performance from Game 2, the Rockets could be back in the driver’s seat of this series.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

DeMarcus Cousins gives Rockets’ Jalen Green his flowers after Game 2

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/houston-rockets/rockets-news-jalen-green-flagrant-1-elbowing-draymond-green');   ga('set', 'title', 'Rockets news: Jalen Green assessed Flagrant 1 for elbowing Draymond Green');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Warriors-Draymond-Green-guarding-Rockets-Jalen-Green.jpg"><figcaption>Troy Taormina-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Rockets news: Jalen Green assessed Flagrant 1 for elbowing Draymond Green</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-24T05:01:44-07:00">April 24th, 5:01am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-24T05:01:44-07:00">April 24th, 5:01am</time><address><a>Nathan Yasis</a>Nathan Yasis is an Associate Editor for ClutchPoints, specializing in the NBA.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Golden State Warriors</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Draymond Green stayed at the center of the action—only this time, he took the hit instead of delivering it. In the fourth quarter of the Warriors’ 109-94 Game 2 loss to the Rockets on Wednesday night, Green collided with Houston guard Jalen Green and absorbed a hard foul, flipping his usual role as the enforcer.</p><p>With just <a href="https://www.twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1915256938390028316" rel="noopener">under eight minutes remaining</a> and the Rockets holding a double-digit lead, Jalen Green collided <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/warriors-news-draymond-green-showered-with-disrespectful-3-word-chant-from-rockets-fans">with Draymond Green</a> as they battled for position. During the exchange, Jalen caught Draymond in the face with an elbow. Officials initially ruled it a personal foul on Jalen, but after reviewing the play, they upgraded it to a flagrant-1.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Draymond Green received an elbow to the face from Jalen Green on this play.</p><p>Jalen was assessed Flagrant 1 foul.</p><p>Thoughts? 🤔<a href="https://t.co/TnbzVlXAur">pic.twitter.com/TnbzVlXAur</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1915256938390028316?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 24, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>This is the Rockets’ <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/houston-rockets/rockets-news-jalen-green-makes-honest-admission-on-first-taste-of-playoff-basketball">first taste of playoff basketball, and for Jalen Green</a>, it marked just his second postseason appearance. Draymond Green, by contrast, has spent over a decade in these moments. He understands the boundaries, knows exactly what’s permitted, and uses that experience to push buttons—often drawing younger, less seasoned players into fouls like the one Jalen committed.</p><p>The Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets have dived into a playoff series that echoes the hard-nosed battles of the 90s. Game 1 delivered just 180 total points, with the Warriors grinding out a 95-point effort to secure the win. Both teams continue to push the pace with intense, physical defense. Jimmy Butler has already suffered an injury, and emotions are running high as this classic-style rivalry intensifies.</p><h2><b>The Houston Rockets equalizing with the Golden State Warriors</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Rockets-vs-Warriors.jpg"><figcaption>Troy Taormina-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The Rockets evened the series at 1-1 with a crucial win,<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/houston-rockets/rockets-news-ime-udoka-message-to-jalen-green-that-unlocked-38-point-outburst-in-game-2"> and Jalen Green led the charge</a>. After a rough showing in Game 1 where he went just 3-for-15 from the field, he bounced back with 38 points in a massive performance that marked his true playoff breakout. The scuffle with Draymond was part of the storyline, but in a game the Rockets controlled by double digits, it didn’t alter the outcome. Still, with the series heading to San Francisco, the challenges for Houston are only going to intensify.</p><p>The Rockets can’t afford to let Draymond Green get under their skin—especially with Dillon Brooks, another key player, carrying his own history of clashes with the Warriors veteran. This series is shaping up to be physical and defense-driven, but Houston needs to stay composed. Giving Golden State extra chances through technicals or unnecessary fouls could swing momentum in a series where every edge matters.</p><p>Game 2 carried major weight for the Rockets, and they responded with noticeably sharper focus and energy on both ends of the floor.</p><p>If Houston had dropped Game 2, Golden State would’ve taken a 2-0 series lead with the next two matchups shifting to their home floor. In that situation, the Rockets would have faced must-win pressure on the road in Game 3 or Game 4 just to extend the series, and would have needed to win both to reclaim home-court advantage before a potential Game 5 back in Houston.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Rockets news: Jalen Green assessed Flagrant 1 for elbowing Draymond Green

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/houston-rockets/rockets-news-jalen-green-makes-honest-admission-on-first-taste-of-playoff-basketball');   ga('set', 'title', 'Rockets’ Jalen Green makes honest admission on first taste of playoff basketball');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Rockets-guard-Jalen-Green-4-reacts-after-scoring-a-basket.jpg"><figcaption>© Troy Taormina-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Rockets’ Jalen Green makes honest admission on first taste of playoff basketball</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-24T00:23:27-07:00">April 24th, 12:23am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-24T00:23:27-07:00">April 24th, 12:23am</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Houston Rockets</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Jalen Green is in the fourth season of his career, and he finally made the playoffs after years of toiling near the bottom of the standings with the Houston Rockets. Green, the second overall pick of the 2021 NBA Draft, remains one of the key pieces of this young Rockets team. After all, when he’s locked in offensively, the Rockets are tough to stop — as evidenced by how <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/houston-rockets/rockets-news-jalen-green-38-point-dominance-warriors-houston-fans-hyped">Green led his team to a 109-94 victory</a> in Game 2 of their series against the Golden State Warriors to even things up at 1-1.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/houston-rockets/rockets-news-ime-udoka-message-to-jalen-green-that-unlocked-38-point-outburst-in-game-2">Green put up 38 points</a> on 13-25 shooting on Wednesday night, and he scorched the nets from beyond the arc, making eight of his 18 three-point attempts. This was quite the bounce-back from the 23-year-old Rockets guard after he built a house with the bricks he threw up in Game 1, when the Warriors held him down to just seven points on 3-15 shooting this past Sunday.</p><p>After the Rockets’ Game 2 victory, Green admitted that the moment <a href="https://twitter.com/NBATV/status/1915272786613780874" rel="noopener">became too overwhelming</a> for him in his playoff debut.</p><p>“That first game, the lights were bright, the court looked huge. I couldn’t really get a chance to settle in, my legs were a little shaky. That’s part of it. [But] I feel like I did a good job of answering back,” Green said in his postgame presser, via NBA TV on X (formerly Twitter).</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"The lights were bright… the court looked huge"</p><p>Jalen Green on his first <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBAPlayoffs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBAPlayoffs</a> game on Sunday 🚀 <a href="https://t.co/Qz3PcfHa5U">pic.twitter.com/Qz3PcfHa5U</a></p><p>— NBA TV (@NBATV) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBATV/status/1915272786613780874?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 24, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Of course, playoff basketball is different to the kind of basketball that Green has been accustomed to thus far in his career. Every possession matters in the playoffs, especially in a series where the two teams don’t have much separating them, and the postseason can definitely expose which player isn’t built for the moment.</p><p>Green, of course, showed in the Rockets’ Game 2 win that he just needed a bit of time to sort out his legs from underneath him before thriving in the grand postseason stage.</p><h2><b>Rockets display a bit of finesse in gritty Game 2 win vs. Warriors</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Jalen-Green.jpg"><figcaption>Troy Taormina-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Jalen Green might be the Rockets’ win condition in their first-round series against the Warriors. They notably struggle with scoring in the halfcourt, but Green can unlock so many things on offense for Houston if his shot is falling.</p><p>Green’s shot was butter on Wednesday night, as he made eight triples, <a href="https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask?q=rockets+players+with+8%2B+threes+single+game+in+playoff+history" rel="noopener">being just the third player</a> in Rockets franchise history to make at least that many treys in a single playoff game. And with the other Rockets nailing the dirty work, Green’s finesse and shot-making was very much welcome as they evened up the series.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Rockets’ Jalen Green makes honest admission on first taste of playoff basketball

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/houston-rockets/rockets-news-ime-udoka-message-to-jalen-green-that-unlocked-38-point-outburst-in-game-2');   ga('set', 'title', 'Ime Udoka’s message to Rockets’ Jalen Green that unlocked 38-point outburst in Game 2');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Rockets-head-coach-Ime-Udoka-talks-with-guard-Jalen-Green-4.jpg"><figcaption>© Troy Taormina-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Ime Udoka’s message to Rockets’ Jalen Green that unlocked 38-point outburst in Game 2</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-23T23:54:01-07:00">April 23rd, 11:54pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-24T06:34:31-07:00">April 24th, 6:34am</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Houston Rockets</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Houston Rockets did not want to head on to the road down 2-0 in their first-round matchup against the seventh-seeded Golden State Warriors. And this was <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/houston-rockets/rockets-news-jalen-green-38-point-dominance-warriors-houston-fans-hyped">evident in the play of Jalen Green</a>, who shook off his Game 1 demons and popped off in their 109-94 victory in Game 2 to even up the series. Green was coming off a seven-point outing on 3-15 shooting from the field, but he showed that he has the memory of a goldfish, redeeming himself with a 38-point night on 13-25 shooting from the field (8-18 from beyond the arc).</p><p>Inefficiency and inconsistency has long been Green’s Achilles heel, and it looked like the Rockets guard was getting deeper into the slump he ended the 2024-25 regular season with. But head coach Ime Udoka pulled Green aside and <a href="https://twitter.com/NBATV/status/1915266378359050621" rel="noopener">rallied him</a>, resulting in arguably his best performance of the season considering stakes.</p><p>“The message is, man, keep it simple. It’s just basketball. Once you get it out of the way, that first game, you do what you’ve been doing all year and your whole career,” Udoka said in his postgame presser, via NBA TV on X (formerly Twitter).</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"Keep it simple, it's just basketball" </p><p>Ime Udoka on the message to Şengün &amp; Green during their first <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBAPlayoffs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBAPlayoffs</a> 💯 <a href="https://t.co/fAxQzVrIix">pic.twitter.com/fAxQzVrIix</a></p><p>— NBA TV (@NBATV) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBATV/status/1915266378359050621?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 24, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Perhaps there were first game jitters for Green as Game 1 marked the first playoff game of his career after toiling away at the bottom of the Western Conference for the first few years of his career. But it’s clear that when Green has it going, the Rockets are hard to stop, and it’s not a stretch to say that they may not have won that game if it weren’t for the 23-year-old guard.</p><p>The Rockets’ weakness all season long has been their struggle to score out of the halfcourt. But if Green has it going the way he did on Wednesday night, then Houston will have a much easier path moving forward in terms of advancing deep into the playoffs.</p><h2><b>Jalen Green busts out of slump in a huge way for the Rockets</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Jalen-Green.jpg"><figcaption>Troy Taormina-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Jalen Green made an effort to suit up in all 82 games for the Rockets, which is admirable in today’s load management-driven era. But this may have taken away from the rhythm of his game; in the last three games of the regular season, he ended up averaging just 5.3 points in 17 minutes per game on 18.8 percent shooting from the field.</p><p>But from the start of Game 2, it was clear that Green had his mojo back. And as a result of his 38-point outburst, the Rockets have tied up the series and may be in a more favorable spot from here on out amid the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/warriors-news-jimmy-butler-leaves-game-2-rockets-injury-scary-fall">Warriors’ Jimmy Butler injury troubles</a>.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Ime Udoka’s message to Rockets’ Jalen Green that unlocked 38-point outburst in Game 2

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/houston-rockets/rockets-news-jalen-green-38-point-dominance-warriors-houston-fans-hyped');   ga('set', 'title', 'Jalen Green’s 38-point dominance vs. Warriors has Rockets fans hyped');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Jalen-Green.jpg"><figcaption>Troy Taormina-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Jalen Green’s 38-point dominance vs. Warriors has Rockets fans hyped</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-23T22:09:04-07:00">April 23rd, 10:09pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-23T22:09:04-07:00">April 23rd, 10:09pm</time><address><a>Troy Finnegan</a>Troy Finnegan is a Senior Editor and College Sports Lead at ClutchPoints. He graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2023 with a degree in journalism and minors in communications and sports media, as well as a critical sports studies certificate. He has had a passion for sports his entire life, and enjoys covering and writing about all sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Houston Rockets</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Houston Rockets disappointed in their first playoff game with this core, but they respond admirably in Game 2 against the Golden State Warriors. In front of a rowdy Toyota Center crowd in Houston, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/nba-news-warriors-rockets-send-fans-frenzy-6-consecutive-3s">Rockets handily beat the Warriors 109-94</a> and evened the series at one game each.</p><p>The biggest question coming into the series and coming out of Game 1 surrounded how the Rockets were going to find consistent offense. Houston scored just 85 points in Game 1 despite grabbing 22 offensive rebounds, shooting under 40% from the field and 6-for-29 from 3-point range.</p><p>Houston guard Jalen Green was ready to ensure that wasn’t going to happen again on Wednesday night. The G-League Ignite product was arguably the best player on the floor in Game 2 and got buckets from everywhere, finishing with 38 points and six assists while shooting 13-for-25 from the floor and 8-for-18 from 3-point range.</p><p>Every time the Rockets needed a basket, they went to Green and he delivered. After the game, Rockets fans were <a href="https://x.com/DaKidGowie/status/1915251018205483268" rel="noopener">parading social media</a> hyping up their young star.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"Jalen Green struggles against the Warriors."</p><p>Jalen: <a href="https://t.co/d3U2BCEdbA">pic.twitter.com/d3U2BCEdbA</a></p><p>— GOWIE (@DaKidGowie) <a href="https://twitter.com/DaKidGowie/status/1915251018205483268?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 24, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">If you’re not happy about this Jalen Green performance you’re not a Rockets fan.</p><p>— Bradeaux (@BradeauxNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/BradeauxNBA/status/1915259086267981915?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 24, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Jalen Green bounce back <a href="https://t.co/gtbF6FiZCV">pic.twitter.com/gtbF6FiZCV</a></p><p>— Cades Attorney 💼👨🏾‍💼 (@CadesAttorney) <a href="https://twitter.com/CadesAttorney/status/1915257089942827384?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 24, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Green has always been capable of these kinds of performances, and games like this one prove why he has so much upside that Rockets fans are so excited about. He is able to score from all three levels of the floor and can be a true game-breaking option for the Rockets when he gets going like this.</p><p>Consistency has been the big problem for Green during his career, and the first two games of this series have been the perfect example of that. In Game 1, he scored just seven points on 3-for-15 shooting from the floor. If the Rockets get the Game 1 version of Green for the rest of this series, they will probably be going home. If they get the Game 2 version, they will be very hard to beat.</p><p>The Rockets benefitted some from the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/warriors-news-jimmy-butler-leaves-game-2-rockets-injury-scary-fall">Warriors’ health issues</a> in Game 2, but they are one of the top teams in the NBA when Green plays like that. If he can bring that type of production and output for the rest of the series, watch out for Houston to knock out the Warriors.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Jalen Green’s 38-point dominance vs. Warriors has Rockets fans hyped

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/houston-rockets/rockets-news-jalen-green-drops-hammer-vs-bulls');   ga('set', 'title', 'Rockets’ Jalen Green drops the hammer vs. Bulls');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Rockets-news-Jalen-Green-drops-the-hammer-vs-Bulls.jpg"></figure><h1>Rockets’ Jalen Green drops the hammer vs. Bulls</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-15T22:14:24-07:00">March 15th, 10:14pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-15T22:14:24-07:00">March 15th, 10:14pm</time><address><a>Richard Pereira</a>Richard Pereira joined ClutchPoints in January 2025 as an Associate Editor. He earned his degree from Florida Atlantic University in 2023 and has been covering the school's athletic programs since 2020, having served as a Sports Editor at the FAU University Press. He was granted the unique opportunity to report on the men's basketball team's journey to the Final Four in Houston for FAU Owls Nest during March Madness, consistently striving to grow as a sports journalist.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Chicago Bulls</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Jalen Green continues to showcase himself as one of the most explosive players in the NBA. Case in point, a highlight he had in the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/editorials/bulls-vs-rockets-prediction-odds-pick-spread-3-15-2025">Houston Rockets’ latest matchup against the Chicago Bulls</a> on Saturday night.</p><p>Midway through the first quarter as the Bulls led 12-9, Green went on the fastbreak following an unsuccessful shot attempt from Matas Buzelis.</p><p>Speeding past his defender, Green then <a href="https://x.com/Rockets_Clips/status/1901067094248030656" rel="noopener">rose high in the paint as he threw down</a> the emphatic one-handed dunk. His athleticism was too much for the Chicago defense, hyping up the Houston home crowd in the process.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Jalen Green transition dunk, wow. <a href="https://t.co/dtGJO04Kaw">pic.twitter.com/dtGJO04Kaw</a></p><p>— Rockets Clips (@Rockets_Clips) <a href="https://twitter.com/Rockets_Clips/status/1901067094248030656?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 16, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://instagram.com/embed.js"></script></p></figure><h2><b>How Jalen Green, Rockets played against Bulls</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Jalen-Green.jpg"><figcaption>Erik Williams-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>It was an <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/rockets-news-ime-udoka-reveals-advice-that-sparked-jalen-greens-41-point-outburst">impressive highlight for Jalen Green to have</a>, adding to his collection of explosive highlights that features dunks.</p><p>Nonetheless, Green played a crucial role in helping the Rockets pull off the 117-114 victory over the Bulls. Both teams went down to the wire as they exchanged leads throughout the game, but Houston made enough plays in the clutch to secure the home win.</p><p>Green led the way with 28 points, six rebounds and three assists. He shot 11-of-25 from the field, including 5-of-13 from beyond the arc. Alperen Sengun came next with 24 points, 15 rebounds, four assists, two steals, and two blocks. Meanwhile, Fred VanVleet provided 23 points, seven assists and four rebounds.</p><p>Houston improved to 43-25 on the season, moving up to the second spot of the Western Conference standings. They are in a three-way tie with Denver Nuggets and Memphis Grizzlies for the high seed.</p><p>Following Saturday’s win over the Bulls, marking their sixth straight, the Rockets will prepare for their next matchup. They host the Philadelphia 76ers on March 17 at 8 p.m. ET.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Rockets’ Jalen Green drops the hammer vs. Bulls

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/houston-rockets/rockets-news-jalen-green-drops-best-anthony-edwards-take-after-epic-duel-in-houston-win');   ga('set', 'title', 'Jalen Green drops ‘best’ Anthony Edwards take after epic duel in Rockets win');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Rockets-news-Jalen-Green-drops-best-Anthony-Edwards-take-after-epic-duel-in-Houston-win.jpg"></figure><h1>Jalen Green drops ‘best’ Anthony Edwards take after epic duel in Rockets win</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-02-21T21:56:41-08:00">February 21st, 9:56pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-02-21T21:56:41-08:00">February 21st, 9:56pm</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Houston Rockets</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>On Friday night, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/minnesota-timberwolves/timberwolves-news-anthony-edwards-new-nba-record-win-rockets">Houston Rockets and Minnesota Timberwolves faced off yet again</a>; two of their first three meetings went down to the wire, and they did not disappoint in the entertainment department in their fourth and final matchup of the season. In the end, it was the Rockets that came out on top, 121-115, thanks to an incredible 35-point performance from Jalen Green.</p><p>Green has been building a reputation for himself as someone who improves the deeper he gets into the season, and on Friday night, he showed how impactful he can be for the Rockets when he’s at his best. He shot 12-24 from the field and 5-11 from deep, and it was his aggressive approach that fueled his team past a Timberwolves squad that was being carried all night long by Anthony Edwards, who had 25 points at the half and 34 points after three, only for him to finish with 37 after a struggle-filled fourth quarter.</p><p>Regardless, game recognizes game, and the Rockets needed every bit of Green’s contributions to match Edwards’. In the end, all Green <a href="https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/1893171504990351489" rel="noopener">could do is praise</a> both himself and Edwards, calling themselves two of the best young guards in today’s game.</p><p>“I feel like I’m one of the best young guards in the league, and he’s one of the best young guards in the league. He’s a great player, and it was a good game tonight,” Green told SportsCenter.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">“I feel like I’m one of the best young guards in the league, and he’s one of the best young guards in the league.”</p><p>Jalen Green shares his thoughts on facing off against Anthony Edwards 💪 <a href="https://t.co/g2hEhjLii2">pic.twitter.com/g2hEhjLii2</a></p><p>— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) <a href="https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/1893171504990351489?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 22, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://instagram.com/embed.js"></script></p></figure><p>Green has always had this immense belief in himself, and his confidence is starting to pay off in the way of more consistency for the Rockets. He may not be at Edwards’ level yet from a consistency standpoint, but on Friday night, Green showed that he can go toe-to-toe against the Timberwolves star — and come out on top.</p><h2>Rockets’ young core shows out against the Timberwolves</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Rockets-guard-Jalen-Green-celebrates.jpg"><figcaption>© Troy Taormina-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>What makes the Rockets’ emergence as one of the best teams in the association is that it’s their young core that’s been doing the heavy lifting. Jalen Green’s 35 points were supported by brilliant games from Alperen Sengun and Amen Thompson, while Jabari Smith Jr., despite coming off the bench, had quite a big impact on the game.</p><p>Sengun had 24 points and 13 rebounds, functioning as the team’s stabilizing force, while <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/houston-rockets/rockets-news-jalen-green-amen-thompson-flowers-superstar-take">Thompson was as brilliant as ever,</a> stuffing the stat sheet with 17 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, and three blocks.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Jalen Green drops ‘best’ Anthony Edwards take after epic duel in Rockets win

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/rockets-news-jalen-green-amen-thompson-flowers-superstar-take');   ga('set', 'title', 'Rockets’ Jalen Green gives Amen Thompson his flowers with ‘superstar’ take');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Jalen-Green-gives-Amen-Thompson-his-flowers-with-superstar-take.jpg"></figure><h1>Rockets’ Jalen Green gives Amen Thompson his flowers with ‘superstar’ take</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-01-31T16:42:07-08:00">January 31st, 4:42pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-01-31T16:42:07-08:00">January 31st, 4:42pm</time><address><a>Troy Finnegan</a>Troy Finnegan is an Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2023 with a degree in journalism and minors in communications and sports media, as well as a critical sports studies certificate. He has had a passion for sports his entire life, and enjoys covering and writing about all sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Houston Rockets</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-rockets-trade-deaaron-fox-kings">Houston Rockets have been one of the best stories</a> in the NBA this season, as Ime Udoka has this young squad sitting at 32-15 and  in second place in the Western Conference. The Rockets are young, hungry and have become one of the most fun teams to watch in the NBA on both ends of the floor.</p><p>Star center <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rockets-news-alperen-sengun-1-word-reaction-making-first-nba-all-star">Alperen Sengun has obviously been a huge part</a> of this team taking a massive step forward this season, as has leading scorer Jalen Green. The biggest surprise of them all has arguably been the second-year leap taken by Amen Thompson, who has recovered from a rocky rookie year to become one of the best young two-way players in basketball.</p><p>On Friday, Green had <a href="https://x.com/BleacherReport/status/1885459251818356805" rel="noopener">plenty of praise</a> for Thompson in an interview with Taylor Rooks.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Jalen Green on Amen Thompson:</p><p>'If he gets a jumper, like a consistent jumper in this league, it's over… [he's] born to be a superstar'</p><p>(via Taylor Rooks X) <a href="https://t.co/YK4IKdiF6I">pic.twitter.com/YK4IKdiF6I</a></p><p>— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) <a href="https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1885459251818356805?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 31, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“The stuff that he’s been doing lately has been crazy,” Green said. “He’s a walking double-double. If his trey-ball and middie is falling, it’s even scarier because you can’t stop him downhill. He’s gonna guard the best player every night. He’s gonna rebound, get cutbacks, and he’s just overall a great person. When you’ve got all that together in one, he’s born to be a superstar.”</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rockets-news-amen-thompson-nba-finals-mvp-comparison-danny-green">Thompson has hit a new high</a> in the month of January, improving dramatically even over his start to this season. He scored in double figures in all 12 games — the Rockets finished the month 9-3 — including a 33-point night against the Boston Celtics including a game-winning floater in the closing seconds.</p><h2><b>Amen Thompson has become one of the best young players in the NBA</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Amen-Thompson.jpg"><figcaption>Brett Davis-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>As a rookie, Amen Thompson flashed his elite athleticism and defensive ability at times, but his inconsistencies on offense were too much for him to overcome and find a consistent role in a crowded Rockets rotation. In year two, however, it’s been <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rockets-news-amen-thompson-kobe-admission-clutch-shot-doomed-celtics">impossible for Ime Udoka to keep Thompson on the bench</a>.</p><p>The Overtime Elite product has maintained his defensive prowess while improving drastically on the offensive end of the floor. He is up to nearly 14 points per game on 55.7% shooting from the field, getting most of his buckets inside the arc. He is a monster in transition and as a cutter and has become very good at picking his spots to get himself good looks in the lane.</p><p>The jumper is still a work in progress, as Thompson is shooting just 25% from 3-point range on just over one attempt per game. However, he has shown some improvement in that area and is willing to let them fly when he is open and has the opportunity to. If he can keep developing that part of his game, he could become a star on both ends of the floor sooner than most may think.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Rockets’ Jalen Green gives Amen Thompson his flowers with ‘superstar’ take

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/rockets-jalen-green-celebrates-draya-micheles-birthday-with-loving-pda');   ga('set', 'title', 'Rockets’ Jalen Green celebrates Draya Michele’s birthday with loving PDA');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Rockets-Jalen-Green-celebrates-Draya-Micheles-birthday-with-loving-PDA.jpg"></figure><h1>Rockets’ Jalen Green celebrates Draya Michele’s birthday with loving PDA</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-01-24T09:38:35-08:00">January 24th, 9:38am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-01-24T09:38:35-08:00">January 24th, 9:38am</time><address><a href="http://designsux.com">Burtland Dixon</a>As an avid enthusiast of entertainment, Burtland Dixon is a passionate individual who revels in the magic of movies, sports, music, and pop culture. Whether it's catching the latest blockbuster, watching the marquee matchup of the week, attending live concerts, or getting immersed in the world of gaming, Burtland finds joy in all forms of entertainment.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Celebrity</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rockets-news-jalen-green-honest-houston-take-thunder">Jalen Green</a> of the Houston Rockets <a href="https://www.tmz.com/2025/01/23/nba-jalen-green-draya-michele-40th-birthday/" rel="noopener">melted hearts on social media</a> as he celebrated his girlfriend Draya Michele’s milestone 40th birthday, per TMZ. The young NBA star shared a heartfelt post featuring a photo of himself affectionately holding Michele, accompanied by a touching caption that read, “Happy Pday to the realest on my side. I love you.” This public declaration highlighted the couple’s strong bond and sparked admiration online.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">22-year-old Jalen Green shows love and wishes his baby mama, Draya Michele, a happy 50th birthday. 🥳 <a href="https://t.co/YLdIdfOSeU">pic.twitter.com/YLdIdfOSeU</a></p><p>— NBACentel (@TheNBACentel) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheNBACentel/status/1882575512532557857?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 23, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://instagram.com/embed.js"></script></p></figure><p>Green, 22, and Michele, a well-known entrepreneur and former reality TV star, have been in the public eye since they confirmed their relationship. Despite their 18-year age gap, the pair remains unbothered by criticism. “Two adults in love shouldn’t upset people,” Michele previously shared when addressing naysayers. The couple’s love story became even more significant with the birth of their daughter in May 2024, a milestone that cemented their status as one of social media’s favorite power couples.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/DFLdSsyyKVZ/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading"><div style="padding: 16px;"><p> </p><div style="display: flex;"><div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div><div style="display: flex;"><div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div><div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div></div></div><div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div><div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div><div style="padding-top: 8px;"><div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"></div><div style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 14px;"><div><div></div><div></div><div></div></div><div style="margin-left: 8px;"><div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 20px; width: 20px;"></div><div></div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"><div></div><div></div><div></div></div></div><div style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 24px;"><div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"></div><div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; height: 14px; width: 144px;"></div></div><p> </p><p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DFLdSsyyKVZ/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" rel="noopener" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A post shared by The Shade Room (@theshaderoom)</a></p></div></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://instagram.com/embed.js"></script></p></figure><h2>Love and Life Beyond the Spotlight</h2><p>Draya Michele, known for her role on Basketball Wives LA and her successful fashion ventures, celebrated her special day amidst an outpouring of love from fans and followers. Her achievements extend beyond television, with her swimwear line, Mint Swim, being a standout success. Though often the target of online chatter, Michele’s resilience shines. Recently, she received support for promoting air purifiers during the Los Angeles wildfires, a move some criticized as insensitive but others praised for its practicality and timeliness.</p><p>Meanwhile, Green, who turns 23 in February, continues to dominate the NBA with an impressive season for the Rockets. As the team’s leading scorer, he averages over 21 points per game, showcasing growth and consistency. His performance has positioned him as a strong contender for his first All-Star appearance, further solidifying his place as one of the league’s brightest young talents.</p><p>Together, Jalen Green and Michele navigate their high-profile lives with grace, proving that love, family, and ambition can coexist harmoniously. Whether it’s through public celebrations or standing united against criticism, the couple remains a testament to finding joy amidst the noise.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Rockets’ Jalen Green celebrates Draya Michele’s birthday with loving PDA

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/pistons-news-cade-cunningham-reveals-true-feelings-on-rockets-jalen-green');   ga('set', 'title', 'Pistons’ Cade Cunningham reveals true feelings on Rockets’ Jalen Green');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Cade-Cunningham-reveals-true-feelings-on-Rockets-Jalen-Green.jpg"></figure><h1>Pistons’ Cade Cunningham reveals true feelings on Rockets’ Jalen Green</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-01-21T19:24:46-08:00">January 21st, 7:24pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-01-21T19:24:46-08:00">January 21st, 7:24pm</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Detroit Pistons</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>On Monday night, the Detroit Pistons and Houston Rockets faced off against one another in a clash between the top two picks of the 2021 NBA Draft — Cade Cunningham and Jalen Green. Both the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/pistons-news-cade-cunningham-hilariously-petitions-fans-to-check-out-detroit-on-league-pass">Pistons and Rockets have been seeing their respective rebuilds bear fruit</a> in a huge way this season, with the former already surpassing their win total last year by eight following a 107-96 victory over Houston.</p><p>Both Cunningham and Green have been playing well; the latter, in particular, has been catching fire as of late, proving himself to be more than just an empty stats scorer. Nonetheless, it’s clear that there is no love lost between the Pistons and Rockets’ young guards, with Cunningham, in a guest appearance on TNT’s NBA Tuesday show, <a href="https://x.com/HaterReport_/status/1881865933943394553" rel="noopener">shedding light</a> on his rivalry with Green that has been in the works dating back to when they were in high school.</p><p>“It’s exactly that. We want to compete against each other. They’ve always put us up against each other since high school as far as who’s better. I think we both kinda enjoy to be able to head up against each other and see who’s the best. I don’t think we need any of that [handshakes and pleasantries]. We both kinda know what it is,” Cunningham said.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Cade Cunningham and Jalen Green really DO NOT f**k with each other. BRING RIVALRIES BACK 🔥</p><p>“They’ve always put us up against each other since high school…[no handshakes before the game] we both kinda know what it is” <a href="https://t.co/2dOX3QScD8">pic.twitter.com/2dOX3QScD8</a></p><p>— Hater Report (@HaterReport_) <a href="https://twitter.com/HaterReport_/status/1881865933943394553?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 22, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://instagram.com/embed.js"></script></p></figure><p>It’s becoming increasingly clear that the burgeoning Pistons star isn’t too fond of Green, and the Rockets guard appears to be well content to return the favor. Of course, this has not yet devolved into full-blown beef quite yet, and it’s not quite clear if the relationship between the two will ever reach that point.</p><p>Nonetheless, as much as fans would want to turn this into the league’s next great rivalry, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/pistons-news-cade-cunningham-gets-100-real-nba-draft-mate-jalen-green">Cunningham has nothing but respect for Green</a>, especially when he’s been playing a prominent role for one of the best teams in the league today in the Rockets.</p><h2><b>Pistons’ Cade Cunningham and Rockets’ Jalen Green are on their way to achieving great things</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Rockets-Jalen-Green-drives-against-Pistons-Cade-Cunningham.jpg"><figcaption>© Thomas Shea-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Cade Cunningham, barring an unforeseen robbery, will be <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-all-star-2025-predictions-victor-wembanyama-cade-cunningham-first-nods">making his first All-Star team this season</a>. He’s played a central role in the Pistons’ resurgence as a franchise, stuffing the stat sheet nightly and leading Detroit to an above .500 record past the halfway mark of the season.</p><p>Meanwhile, Jalen Green has had his fair share of question marks regarding his standing as a long-term member of the Rockets’ core. But Green has been improving his efficiency over the past few weeks, highlighting his ceiling as a go-to scorer for the team on the perimeter for years to come.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Pistons’ Cade Cunningham reveals true feelings on Rockets’ Jalen Green

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/pistons-news-cade-cunningham-gets-100-real-nba-draft-mate-jalen-green');   ga('set', 'title', 'Pistons’ Cade Cunningham gets 100% real on NBA draft mate Jalen Green');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Cade-Cunningham-gets-100-real-on-NBA-draft-mate-Jalen-Green.jpg"></figure><h1>Pistons’ Cade Cunningham gets 100% real on NBA draft mate Jalen Green</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-01-20T21:16:17-08:00">January 20th, 9:16pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-01-20T21:16:17-08:00">January 20th, 9:16pm</time><address><a>Eric Vincent</a>Eric Vincent is a credentialed beat reporter for the Detroit Pistons at ClutchPoints. He has been active in Detroit sports journalism since 2011 previously working with Bleacher Report, 1130 WDFN, and Detroit Sports Nation.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Detroit Pistons</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The recent ascension of the Detroit Pistons and Houston Rockets comes courtesy of the development of their 2021 first-round draft picks, Cade Cunningham and Jalen Green.</p><p>Both teams have emerged as two of the most surprising teams in the NBA this season. Cunningham<a href="https://x.com/ChancellorTV/status/1881475982353428569"> shared his assessment</a> of Green’s performance lately after Detroit’s <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/pistons-news-jb-bickerstaff-credits-detroit-vs-everybody-mentality-win-rockets">107-96 victory</a> over Houston.</p><p>“He’s been having a great year. It’s something I expected. I knew he was a big-time player in high school coming up. I knew he was going to find his footing in the NBA, same as me,” Cunningham stated. “I think we’re just on our paths, and I’m not surprised at all.”</p><p>Cunningham finished with the upper hand in Monday’s matchup against Green. Detroit’s star point guard finished with 32 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists. Houston’s breakout guard finished with 19 points, four assists, and four rebounds.</p><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Cade-Cunningham.jpg"><figcaption>Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h2>Cade Cunningham vs. Jalen Green: A budding rivalry?</h2><p>The two young stars have been constantly compared since the build-up and results of the 2021 NBA Draft. Cunningham was the complete prospect coming out of Oklahoma State with the upside of a franchise player. Green was a flashy scorer with hyper-athleticism coming out of NBA G-League Ignite. Their draft selections to Detroit and Houston have been the launching point of the rebuilds for their teams.</p><p>Green was very outspoken on draft night about wanting to <a href="https://x.com/nufc_rockets/status/1421186293527109632">prove the Pistons wrong</a> for passing on him. The 6-foot-6 scoring guard campaigned to be the No. 1 draft pick by even saying <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-news-jalen-greens-bold-message-will-annoy-cade-cunningham">he wanted to live in Detroit</a>. Instead, the Pistons decided to move forward with Cunningham as their selection to build around.</p><p>Both players have been impressive throughout their four-year careers. Cunningham is recording career-high averages and could be in line for his first NBA All-Star selection this year. Green’s game continues to expand in Houston, and he was recently named Western Conference Player of the Week.</p><p>Despite being in the NBA for four seasons, the two young guards have played to a draw with a 2-2 record. Injuries have limited the number of times they were able to participate in each contest. They both have left their mark in each matchup with either stat-stuffing performances or a viral highlight. The highlights normally have followed up with <a href="https://x.com/ClutchPoints/status/1855730830762709046">heavy trash talk</a>, prompting the possibility of a budding rivalry between the two.</p><p>Green has been a part of a quicker timeline of team success, which has aided his professional development. The Rockets have complemented Green well with their roster construction through his career. Their front office intelligence has lifted the franchise to the second seed in the Western Conference.</p><p>Houston has put together successful drafting after Green by adding prospects like Alperen Sengun, Jabari Smith, Amen Thompson, Tari Eason, Cam Whitmore, and beyond. Their free agency moves have also been beneficial to their growth with the presence of veterans like Dillon Brooks and Fred VanVleet.</p><p>Cunningham’s road to winning has been a bit more rocky due to the passive moves from Detroit’s front office in his tenure. Last season’s 14-68 record required a reset for the Pistons with new leadership by adding current President of Basketball Operations Trajan Landon and head coach J.B. Bickerstaff.</p><p>After a three-year win-loss record of 54-192, Detroit has turned things around this season with a 22-21 record and the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. Cunningham is at the center of that turnaround by averaging 24.5 points, 9.3 assists, and 6.5 rebounds per game. Acquiring veteran talents in Malik Beasley, Tobias Harris, and Tim Hardaway Jr. have made a major difference for the young talent in Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, Jalen Duren, Isaiah Stewart, and Ausar Thompson and the Pistons are succeedign as a result.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Pistons’ Cade Cunningham gets 100% real on NBA draft mate Jalen Green

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nuggets-news-russell-westbrook-has-full-circle-moment-with-jalen-green-in-loss-to-rockets');   ga('set', 'title', 'Nuggets’ Russell Westbrook has full-circle moment with Jalen Green in loss to Rockets');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Nuggets-news-Russell-Westbrook-has-full-circle-moment-with-Jalen-Green-in-loss-to-Rockets.jpg"></figure><h1>Nuggets’ Russell Westbrook has full-circle moment with Jalen Green in loss to Rockets</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-01-15T22:28:54-08:00">January 15th, 10:28pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-01-15T22:28:54-08:00">January 15th, 10:28pm</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Denver Nuggets</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>On Wednesday night, Russell Westbrook took on a heavier workload than usual for the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nuggets-news-nikola-jokic-jamal-murray-denver-injury-report-mavericks">Denver Nuggets amid Nikola Jokic’s injury</a>. Jokic, of course, is as big of an absence as anyone, and with Jalen Green leading the charge for the Houston Rockets with another hyper-efficient scoring night (34 points on 10-16 shooting from the field), the Nuggets fell flat en route to a 128-108 defeat.</p><p>In the middle of the game, Green was feeling himself, and perhaps rightfully so considering how on fire he has been as of late. The Rockets guard ended up <a href="https://x.com/TheWestbrookEra/status/1879738319418097672" rel="noopener">talking some smack</a> towards Westbrook’s direction, which caught the Nuggets guard a bit by surprise since it wasn’t that long ago that Green was one of the best players for the 2017 NBA MVP’s “Why Not” AAU team.</p><p>“God damn boy! He used to play on my AAU team talking to me like I’m a little a** kid,” Westbrook said as he chirped to the Rockets bench about Green, via @TheWestbrookEra on X, formerly Twitter.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">“God damn boy. He used to play on my AAU team talking to me like I’m a little ass kid”.</p><p>Russ talking to Jalen Green LMFAO  <a href="https://t.co/2XvbspmO6a">pic.twitter.com/2XvbspmO6a</a></p><p>— 08-17 Russ fan (@TheWestbrookEra) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheWestbrookEra/status/1879738319418097672?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 16, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Time moves so quickly; it was only back in 2019 when Green <a href="https://twitter.com/Ballislife/status/1127648090926632961" rel="noopener">was a part of</a> Westbrook’s AAU team, but now, the Rockets guard is a grown man who’s on an upward trajectory in his career. Meanwhile, the Nuggets guard has undergone his fair share of career difficulties since that time, although he’s found a new lease in life in the Mile High City, striking an incredible partnership with reigning MVP Jokic.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Jalen Green made his debut for Russell Westbrook’s Why Not AAU team this weekend @JalenRomande <a href="https://twitter.com/NikeEYB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NikeEYB</a> <a href="https://t.co/N0TaGvgTUT">pic.twitter.com/N0TaGvgTUT</a></p><p>— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) <a href="https://twitter.com/Ballislife/status/1127648090926632961?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 12, 2019</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>The fun thing about watching the Nuggets guard play, even in his older age, is that he has no friends on the court other than his teammates as long as there is a single second left on the game clock. So even though Westbrook acts as some sort of an uncle towards Green, he is not backing down from any challenge, hence this full-circle moment.</p><h2><b>Jalen Green and Russell Westbrook duel in lopsided Rockets win over Nuggets</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Nuggets-guard-Russell-Westbrook-4-reacts.jpg"><figcaption>© Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Jalen Green has been a new man ever since the calendar flipped to 2025. Coming off an <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/grizzlies-news-memphis-gumbling-third-loss-rockets-ja-morant-jaren-jackson-jr">incredible 42-point outing against the Memphis Grizzlies</a> in which he shot 13-18 from the field, the Rockets guard cannot miss yet again on Wednesday night, proving to be the catalyst in yet another win for Houston.</p><p>Meanwhile, Russell Westbrook may have done his best, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the Nuggets from getting blown out. Westbrook put up 17 points and four assists on the night, which is far from his best relative to his performances as of late, but it was always going to be difficult for them to win on the second night of a back to back while being without their best player.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Nuggets’ Russell Westbrook has full-circle moment with Jalen Green in loss to Rockets

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/rockets-news-jalen-green-playing-wizards-injury-update');   ga('set', 'title', 'Is Rockets’ Jalen Green playing vs. Wizards? Latest injury update');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Rockets-news-Is-Jalen-Green-playing-vs.-Wizards-Latest-injury-update.jpg"></figure><h1>Is Rockets’ Jalen Green playing vs. Wizards? Latest injury update</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-01-07T09:23:09-08:00">January 7th, 9:23am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-01-07T15:07:53-08:00">January 7th, 3:07pm</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/joey.mistretta/" rel="facebook">Joey Mistretta</a>Joey Mistretta is a Dallas Mavericks beat reporter, Dallas Wings beat reporter and lead MLB editor for ClutchPoints. He is originally from Lake Arrowhead, California. Mistretta graduated from Biola University with a degree in broadcast journalism.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Houston Rockets</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Houston Rockets are playing the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night. Jalen Green, who has played a pivotal role in Houston’s success so far in the 2024-25 season, <a href="https://ak-static.cms.nba.com/referee/injury/Injury-Report_2025-01-07_11AM.pdf" rel="noopener">is listed on</a> the NBA injury report, however. So is Green playing tonight versus the Wizards?</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rockets-news-ime-udoka-reveals-advice-that-sparked-jalen-greens-41-point-outburst">Green has played well in 2024-25</a> for the most part up to this point. He is dealing with a right knee contusion, though. The Rockets are certainly hopeful that the 22-year-old will be available for Tuesday night’s game.</p><p>Green is averaging 20 points per game while shooting 41.4 percent from the field and 32.4 percent from beyond the arc. The 6’4″ guard is also recording per-game averages of 4.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 0.9 steals.</p><p>Here is everything we know about Jalen Green’s injury status for tonight’s game vs. the Wizards.</p><h2><b>Jalen Green’s injury status for Rockets-Wizards game</b></h2><p>Green is currently listed as questionable due to the aforementioned knee injury. The Rockets will enter the game with a strong 23-12 record. Meanwhile, the Wizards are just 6-27 overall. Houston is second in the Western Conference and Washington is in last place in the Eastern Conference.</p><p>The Rockets, despite playing on the road, could potentially be the favorite regardless of Green’s final injury status. Still, Houston would obviously love to have one of their best players available for the game. Every contest matters as the Rockets look to continue climbing the standings in the competitive Western Conference.</p><p>It has been a quality campaign for Houston so far. The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-power-rankings-24-25-week-6-magic-rockets-soar-surprise-success-stories">Rockets have outplayed many of their preseason expectations</a>. Green has played a big role without question. He would like to develop more consistency from a scoring standpoint, but there is no denying the fact that Green features a high ceiling.</p><p>When it comes to the question of if Jalen Green is playing tonight vs. the Wizards, though, the answer is maybe.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Is Rockets’ Jalen Green playing vs. Wizards? Latest injury update

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/rockets-news-jalen-green-honest-houston-take-thunder');   ga('set', 'title', 'Jalen Green issues honest Rockets take before Thunder game');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Jalen-Green-issues-honest-Houston-take-before-Thunder-game.jpg"></figure><h1>Jalen Green issues honest Rockets take before Thunder game</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-13T17:34:24-08:00">December 13th, 5:34pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-13T17:34:24-08:00">December 13th, 5:34pm</time><address><a>Troy Finnegan</a>Troy Finnegan is an Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2023 with a degree in journalism and minors in communications and sports media, as well as a critical sports studies certificate. He has had a passion for sports his entire life, and enjoys covering and writing about all sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Houston Rockets</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Houston Rockets have been one of the biggest surprises of the 2024-25 NBA season so far, jumping out to a 17-8 record which is tied for the second best mark in the Western Conference. The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rockets-news-alperen-sengun-drops-eye-opening-claim-about-nba-cup-win-vs-warriors">Rockets have also been very impressive in NBA Cup play</a> and will play in Saturday’s semifinals against the Oklahoma City Thunder.</p><p>The Rockets picked up a very impressive, but controversial, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/warriors-news-steve-kerr-ruthlessly-blasts-officials-after-controversial-nba-cup-loss-vs-rockets">win over the Golden State Warriors</a> on Wednesday night in the quarterfinals to earn a trip to Las Vegas over the weekend. The semifinal matchup against the Thunder will pit the two best teams in the Western Conference so far this season against each other.</p><p>Before the Rockets and Thunder face off, Rockets guard Jalen Green spoke about what makes this Houston team special and different from some of the less successful ones that he has played on <a href="https://x.com/ClutchPoints/status/1867718950760665578" rel="noopener">during his young career</a>.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"It's more so family not a group… The way we communicate on the court is very different from when I was first here."</p><p>Jalen Green on the Rockets' growth since he was drafted  🙌</p><p>(via <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NBA</a>)<a href="https://t.co/yTaJxhCs6m">pic.twitter.com/yTaJxhCs6m</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1867718950760665578?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 13, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“I would say how we all interact with each other,” Green said. “It’s more so a family, not a group. The way we handle losses, the way we handle wins, the way we communicate on the court is very different from when I was first here. Not discrediting those people, but it’s a different level of winning basketball.”</p><p>Green has struggled with consistency this season, but he still leads the Rockets in scoring at 19.2 points per game.</p><h2><b>Rockets have the team to take down Thunder in NBA Cup</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Rockets-celebration.jpg"><figcaption>Troy Taormina-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The Thunder enter the final four at the NBA Cup as pretty heavy favorites to take home the trophy, and they have backed up that notion time and time again this season. Even after Chet Holmgren went down with a serious hip injury, Oklahoma City has been nearly unstoppable.</p><p>They were boosted even more when backup center Isaiah Hartenstein returned from injury to give the Thunder at least one quality big man while Holmgren is out. They answered the bell in Tuesday night’s NBA Cup quarterfinal against the Dallas Mavericks, handily defeating Luka Doncic and company 118-104.</p><p>Despite all of that, the underdog <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-mark-daigneault-addresses-previous-shortcomings-rockets">Rockets have the type of team that can bother the Thunder</a> and maybe pick up a big upset on Saturday night. The Rockets have one of the best defenses in the league and can match the Thunder with a number of big, long bodies out on the wing. Dillon Brooks, Tari Eason, Jabari Smith Jr., Amen Thompson and others are all problems defensively and they give the Rockets multiple bodies to throw at Shai Gelgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/warriors-news-stephen-curry-blame-glaring-issue-nba-cup-loss-rockets">Just ask the Warriors about the Rockets’ defense</a> after Houston held Golden state to just 90 points and forced them into one of the most physical, difficult games of the season on the offensive end. Oklahoma City has more pop than the Warriors offensively and can put the ball in the basket in a variety of different ways, but the Rockets have the bodies to slow them down. If they can, Houston could find itself in the NBA Cup Championship Game on Tuesday night.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Jalen Green issues honest Rockets take before Thunder game

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/rockets-news-dillon-brooks-savage-message-warriors-jalen-green-presser');   ga('set', 'title', 'Rockets veteran Dillon Brooks’ savage message to Warriors during Jalen Green presser');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Rockets-news-Dillon-Brooks-savage-message-to-Warriors-overheard-during-Jalen-Green-presser.jpg"></figure><h1>Rockets veteran Dillon Brooks’ savage message to Warriors during Jalen Green presser</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-12T08:09:05-08:00">December 12th, 8:09am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-12T08:55:54-08:00">December 12th, 8:55am</time><address><a>Josue Pavon</a>Josue Pavon is an Associate Editor and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat writer for ClutchPoints. He started his career as a credentialed media member writing about the Boston Celtics for WEEI.com in Boston, where he grew into a local on-camera NBA reporter and podcast host for CLNS Media. Alongside the Celtics radio broadcaster and two-time NBA champion Cedric Maxwell, Josue is the co-host of the Cedric Maxwell podcast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Golden State Warriors</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Whether intentional or not, Houston Rockets veteran Dillon Brooks crashed Jalen Green’s postgame interview after they beat the Golden State Warriors 91-90 in the NBA Cup’s quarter-finals. After eliminating the Warriors on Wednesday, head coach <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rockets-news-ime-udoka-expertly-breaks-down-key-reason-behind-warriors-stunner">Ime Udoka pointed to the Rockets’ relentlessness</a> as a catalyst to edging out Golden State. At the same time, Brooks was eager to send them home.</p><p>His voice <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1867212052886155372" rel="noopener">can be heard</a> in the background during Green’s postgame interview, per Locked on Rockets’s Jackson Gatlin.</p><p>“Send they a** back to Golden State,”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"Send they a*s back to Golden State."</p><p>Dillon Brooks in the background while Jalen Green was speaking with the media following the Rockets' NBA Cup win over the Warriors 😅</p><p>(via <a href="https://twitter.com/JTGatlin?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JTGatlin</a>)<br> <a href="https://t.co/Miaz4AqvQC">pic.twitter.com/Miaz4AqvQC</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1867212052886155372?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 12, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>After the Warriors’ Stephen Curry missed a three that would have given his team the lead, the Rockets regained possession on a loose ball foul toward the end of the fourth quarter, sealing the one-point win. After the victory, Udoka <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1867093539915698207" rel="noopener">said his team’s</a> never-give-up attitude made all the difference.</p><p>“We’re gonna continue to fight and not give up. Got stops when we needed to, hit big shots when we needed to. Got on the floor, loose balls, created that foul. Great job switching on the last possession to kind of bottle that up. But as I’ve said before, you can always rely on your defense when the shots aren’t falling,” Udoka said in his postgame presser via the official ClutchPoints account on X (formerly Twitter).</p><p>“A lot of good things. Eight 24-second [shot clock] violations. 30 points off their 22 turnovers. Only put them on the free-throw line nine times. That’s a recipe for success on the defensive end, for sure,” Udoka concluded.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">“That’s a recipe for success on the defensive end.”</p><p>Ime Udoka holds the Rockets to high praise after securing a tough comeback win over the Warriors 🗣️</p><p>(via <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NBA</a>)<a href="https://t.co/OUYo1gzCti">pic.twitter.com/OUYo1gzCti</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1867093539915698207?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 12, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Alperen Sengun’s double-double (26 points, 11 rebounds) led the Rockets. Jabari Smith finished with 15 points, and Green added 12 points and three steals. Jonathan Kuminga’s 20 points and seven rebounds led the Warriors. Curry scored 19 points, and Buddy Hield finished with 15 points.</p><h2><b>Alperen Sengun’s shocking claim for Rockets’ win over Warriors</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Rockets-center-Alperen-Sengun.jpg"><figcaption>Troy Taormina-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Before Wednesday’s win, Houston Rockets center <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rockets-news-alperen-sengun-drops-eye-opening-claim-about-nba-cup-win-vs-warriors">Alperen Sengun had never seen his teammates so focused</a>. Perhaps that’s why Rockets veteran Dillon Brooks was so hyped up during Jalen Green’s presser. The one-point win proved how hungry they were against the Golden State Warriors, and they are now heading to Las Vegas for the NBA Cup’s semifinals.</p><p>Sengun <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1867086948801888650" rel="noopener">spoke to</a> TNT’s Stephanie Ready after the win.</p><p>“I’ve never seen my team this thirsty. We knew it was gonna be hard. They play aggressive. We play aggressive. I’m proud of my teammates, everyone,” Sengun said. “We worked hard. We came ready for this game so hard. So I’m happy [we won]. This is big time.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"I've never seen my team this thirsty… We knew it was gonna be hard. They play aggressive. We play aggressive."</p><p>Alperen Sengun on the Rockets' tough win over the Warriors to qualify for the NBA Cup Semifinals 🗣️</p><p>(via <a href="https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NBAonTNT</a>)<a href="https://t.co/FqJk44nhXY">pic.twitter.com/FqJk44nhXY</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1867086948801888650?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 12, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>The Rockets will face the Thunder in the semifinals on Saturday.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

2024-25 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
21.5	4.3	3.1	0.3	0.8

2024-25 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
21.5	4.3	3.1	0.3	0.8

Jalen Green news