Houston Rockets Juice Indiana Pacers 110-100

What a bounce-back that our Houston Rockets had from Saturday night!

For a moment quicker than the blink of an eye, I wondered if the Rockets had forgotten to play defense.

But after seeing games like these, it restores my faith in all that what makes this team go.

It’s okay to sputter every now and then because it’s the human element in partaking in professional sports.

But what I saw in the 4th quarter against the Suns was just mind-boggling.

Any way, that’s old news and the Rockets were able to get the “W” against the Indiana Pacers last night which was all that mattered.

From the opening tip, the Rockets had the pedal nearly to floor as they jumped to a 12-4 lead after James Harden sunk two free throws with 8:27 left.

The team continued to pour it on further and led 11 points — 26-15 — at the end of the 1st.

This was after the Beard hit another pair of free throws — he already had 15 points at the end of the quarter!

It was more of the same for the 2nd quarter as the Rockets build their lead up even more — 16 points — after a Donatas Motiejunas hooked it in the hoop with 4:51 left in the half. Rockets 46, Pacers 30

Josh Smith, who was questionable for tonight’s game with an ankle sprain appeared to be not affected by the injury at all.

He came alive in the 2nd quarter, playing junkyard-dog type defense, rebounding and knocking a few threes down along the way.

Ya know, the stuff that the Rockets pay him to do off the bench.

He did so wonderfully too — I’m still in awe of how he has grasped being a part of the supporting cast on the bench.

This is a guy that is used to being in a starting lineup but he seems to embrace and revel in his unique role with the Rockets.

Harden’s scoring presence was a bit muffled for the 2nd quarter with the exception of a three-pointer he swished before the buzzer putting the Rockets up 53-39 at the half.

Although the 3rd quarter started out quite strong, the Rockets let the Pacers back in the game with an 18-4 run that pulled them within two points after Solomon Hill slammed a huge one home, pumping up the home crowd with 1:23 left. Rockets 68, Pacers 66

The Pacers run was briefly interrupted by a scuffle between Jason Terry and George Hill after Terry fouled him hard while he was on the drive.

It had escalated to a point where both teams had to separate them as each continued to jaw at each other — Hill even threw a basketball in frustration exacerbating the situation.

Frank Vogel decided to pull him out of the game to make sure that cooler heads prevailed.

But his substitute, Damjan Rudez, hit a three on the very next possession and would be pivotal to sustaining their run I previously had mentioned.

But D-Mo and J-Smoove contributed two big three-pointers of their own to push the Rockets back up ending the 3rd leading 76-68.

But the 4th quarter totally belonged to the Beard, he took over and had the determination to ensure the Rockets stayed on top.

As a matter of fact, he scored 18 of 44 total points in the 4th quarter.

He was literally unstoppable whether he’d beat one with a quick jumper or bait one into a foul sending himself to the line.

More from House of Houston

The Pacers did pull within eight points with 3:05 left after Roy Hibbert made two free throws off a D-Mo foul. Rockets 98, Pacers 90

The Rockets firepower was just too much for the Pacers as the Rockets finished the game strong and on top. Final Score: Rockets 110, Pacers 100

This was a game I still knew we could win despite Dwight Howard and Terrence Jones being out.

The guys that were around stepped up big-time and they were able to earn a win out of it.

Beard led all scorers with 44 points, seven assists including going 21-of-22 from the charity stripe.

J-Smoove had an excellent game off the bench with 18 points and five rebounds. Trevor Ariza had 11 rebounds to his credit.

C.J. Watson led the Pacers with 23 points and five assists. Hill added 20 points, six rebounds, three steals and three blocks.

Hibbert had 18 points and 10 rebounds.

The Rockets took care of business tonight!

But, as I always say, it’s on to the next one!