Led by strong games from the veteran duo of Christian Wood (23 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks) and Eric Gordon (23 points, 5 assists), the Houston Rockets improbably won their sixth consecutive game with Sunday’s 118-108 victory (box score) over visiting New Orleans.
Garrison Mathews, Jae’Sean Tate, Daniel Theis, Alperen Sengun, KJ Martin, and DJ Augustin all chipped in with 9 or more points, leading a balanced effort on offense for the victorious home team at Toyota Center.
The Pelicans (7-19) were led by former All-Star Brandon Ingram, who scored a game-high 40 points. As for the young Rockets (7-16), they continue to hold the NBA’s longest active winning streak, and it’s now the most consecutive games that any NBA, NFL, MLB, or NHL team has ever won immediately after a losing streak of 15+ games.
The competition will rise significantly for Houston in the coming days, with the Brooklyn Nets and reigning NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks set to come to town later this week. During the current six-game streak, four of the wins have come versus New Orleans, Oklahoma City, and Orlando, who are three of the only four NBA teams with worse records than Houston on the 2021-22 season to date. The short-term absence of the usual starting backcourt of Jalen Green (left hamstring strain) and Kevin Porter Jr. (left thigh contusion) doesn’t help matters, either.
But the Rockets will save those concerns for another day. For now, they will enter back-to-back off days with strong momentum and incredibly positive vibes from a six-game winning streak. See below for all the highlights and postgame reaction from Sunday night at Toyota Center.