Tempers flared in the second quarter of Saturday's game between the Houston Rockets and the Utah Jazz. Just seconds into the quarter, Jabari Smith Jr. and Kris Dunn got tangled up and the two then threw punches at each other.
Fortunately, they didn't connect with the punches and the rest of the players and officials soon got between them to ensure things did not escalate further. Both Smith and Dunn would get ejected and it now remains to be seen if the league will take further action.
Smith had 5 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists to his name prior to the ejection while Dunn had 2 points and 1 rebound. This was actually the second time this season, that these two had got into it. During the last meeting between these sides, Dunn set a hard screen on Smith, which led to the two squaring off.
They were only assessed technicals here and were not ejected. The Rockets would go on to narrowly win that game in overtime and they won this latest clash as well, albeit with much more ease.
The Rockets jumped out to a 47-21 lead after the first quarter and went on to win 147-119 to improve to 35-35 on the season. It was their eighth straight win and they are now 10-1 in their last 11 games.
The Rockets are also now just a game and a half behind the Golden State Warriors, who are currently 10th in the West with a 36-33 record. The two teams will face off on April 4, and the winner might well be the one that gets that final NBA Play-In Tournament spot.
It would be an incredible accomplishment if the Rockets make it in. They were tied for the worst record in the Western Conference last season at 22-60. That was on the back of them having the worst record in the Conference in 2020-21 and 2021-22 as well.
They were not expected to make much noise in this 2023-24 campaign and new head coach Ime Udoka deserves a lot of credit for this turnaround. Under him, the Rockets, who were second from bottom in defensive rating last season, are now in the top 10. They are a scrappy team that gets in the opposition's faces and we have seen a fair few scuffles in their games now.
Ime Udoka Does Not Have An Issue With Rockets Games Being Chippy
This was the second straight Rockets game in which we had seen a fight. DeMar DeRozan and Dillon Brooks were ejected in their game against the Chicago Bulls on Thursday night. Udoka was asked about all these scuffles that the Rockets had been a part of and he doesn't have a problem with it.
“Not a bad thing to have chippy games," Udoka said. "I don’t mind that part of it at all. If a guy takes a hit, teammates gotta stand up for each other.”
To be fair, DeRozan was clearly the one at fault in that instance, as he had body-checked Jalen Green. Brooks was standing up for his teammate by getting in the Bulls guard's face.
You can't have someone do that to a teammate and not exchange words with them. It's not often that I say it, but this is one altercation that Brooks was involved in, where he wasn't in the wrong.
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