Houston Rockets Showed Two-Way Prowess in Second Cavs Win

The Houston Rockets just completed a two-game sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers, the NBA's top team, at least record-wise. The Rockets are the only team to defeat the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Cavaliers this season.

The Rockets, for most of the season, have leaned on their defense to propel them to one of the best teams in the NBA. The Rockets have been a top three defense all season and Ime Udoka has said from day one he wants defense to be the Rockets calling card.

On the offensive end, Houston had work to do as they oft struggle on that side of the court. Specifically from 3-point range they hovered around the bottom of the league for most of the season. However, since Amen Thompson entered the starting lineup the Rockets offense has done a 180.

The Rockets always knew they would have to improve on the offensive end to beat the elite teams in the NBA. In their last two wins against the Cavaliers, the Rockets have shown they can beat top teams by playing elite defense and offense.

In the team's 109-108-win Wednesday night, the Rockets only scored 15 points in the fourth quarter. They were able to pull out the victory because they came up with huge defensive plays down the stretch.

In Saturday's win over the Cavaliers, Houston gave up 47 points but were able to come away with the win because they scored 34 points themselves and 135 points in the game. That shows that the Rockets are a more balanced team now than they were earlier in the season.

The Rockets know that you can't depend on one side of the court for an entire season and showed against the Cavaliers they are not overly reliant on their defense. The team shot 46% from 3-point range and 55% from the field.

Of course, Ime Udoka will never be happy with giving up 47 points in the fourth quarter. The Rockets' defense has slipped slightly since Jan. 1, but that slippage has not stopped them from continuing to win.

The Rockets next travel to Boston to take on the Celtics Monday night in battle of number two seeds in the NBA.