Rockets Head to Phoenix at 7-2 With One Problem to Fix: 22 Turnovers Became 33 Points
Houston's second loss of the season came with a clear diagnosis from its own coach and its star - the Rockets gave Minnesota the ball, and the game. Saturday night in Phoenix is the first chance to answer it.
The Houston Rockets wrapped up their three-game homestand on Wednesday with a 117-107 loss to Minnesota that dropped them to 7-2 on the young season - and the Rockets' own postgame accounting, as reported by Rockets Wire, was not complicated. Houston committed 22 turnovers, and Minnesota turned them into 33 points. "We had 22 turnovers overall for 33 points (off turnovers)," head coach Ime Udoka said. "That's the story of the game."
The giveaways were spread across the rotation: Alperen Sengun had five on a night he also posted his first triple-double of the season - 17 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists - while Kevin Durant had four, and Fred VanVleet and Amen Thompson three each. Durant, who scored 21 points, accepted his share of it afterward: "I lead by example out there, so I can't be leading the team in turnovers," he said, as published by Rockets Wire. Houston fell from eighth in turnover prevention before the game to 18th after it, while Minnesota - now 6-3 - shot 52.9 percent and got 21 points from Ayo Dosunmu.
The response comes quickly. Next up for Houston is a road game at Phoenix on Saturday night, with tipoff at 8:00 p.m. Central against a Suns team that opened the season 1-5. The game will be televised and streamed regionally on Space City Home Network and to national and international audiences via NBA League Pass. For a Rockets team that has spent the season's first two weeks looking like one of the West's best, the assignment is simple to state: take care of the ball, and the rest of Wednesday's stat sheet - VanVleet's 18 points, Reed Sheppard's 14 off the bench - starts to matter again.
