The Houston Rockets lead the NBA in first-quarter scoring at 32.4 points per game, but check in dead last in fourth-quarter output with only 22.8 points to show.
Rockets are last in 4th-quarter scoring because they can be
They’re blowing teams out, so why not take a quarter off?
Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images
The average basketball savant might feel the Rockets collapse under the pressure of the deciding quarter. But not Nuggets head coach Michael Malone. No. He has a much simpler reason: They don’t need to score anymore.
“You know why that is?” he said via ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. “Because they’re up by 30 going into the fourth quarter. That’s the only reason.”
First off, LMAO. Second off, he’s kinda right.
Five of Houston’s 13 victories have come by 20 points or more, including a 27-point bludgeoning of the Utah Jazz. The Rockets have held leads of at least 24 points in seven of those games, including running up a 36-point lead against the Mavericks, leaping ahead by 32 against Utah, pelting the Hawks for a 30-point lead, and running up a 33-point lead over the Suns.
And those are only the leads that ballooned to 30 or more.
The Rockets play the Nuggets Wednesday night, and Denver allows an average of 105.4 points per game. Houston clears 88.5 points by the end of the third quarter.
Good luck, Coach Malone.
See More:
