Amen Thompson came up with critical late rebounds and points as part of his triple-double performance, and the visiting Houston Rockets completed the regular-season sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers with a 135-131 decision on Saturday.
Houston never trailed after taking the lead midway through the first quarter, but Cleveland chipped away at a deficit of as many as 19 points to force a tie with 1:51 remaining in regulation.
Alperen Sengun, who matched Jalen Green with a team-high 26 points, got to the free-throw line with the score knotted. After making the first foul shot, his second came off the rim but a mass of Cavaliers chasing the rebound could not keep it inbounds.
After Sengun missed a shot in the key, Thompson was there to clean it up with a putback dunk that pushed the Rockets lead to three points.
Erupting to score 25 of his 33 points in the second half, Donovan Mitchell drew a foul while attempting a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession but missed the front end of his three free-throw attempts.
Thompson got into the paint the next time down with Houston holding a narrow 127-126 lead and forced a foul on Evan Mobley. Thompson’s foul shots effectively put the game away, as Cleveland was never as close the rest of the way en route to the Cavaliers’ first three-game losing streak of the season.
Thompson finished with 23 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists in his second career triple-double. He was one of four Houston starters to score at least 20 points, with Fred VanVleet adding 20.
All of VanVleet’s six made field-goal attempts came on nine 3-point attempts.
Cleveland’s Darius Garland led all scorers with 39 points and dished a team-high nine assists in the loss. Georges Niang came off the bench to score 21 points, and Max Strus finished with 14 points and nine rebounds for the Cavaliers.
The win was Houston’s second over Cleveland in as many games, knocking off the Cavaliers on Wednesday in Texas. Saturday’s game was the first in a four-game road swing for the Rockets.
–Field Level Media
