The Houston Rockets put this week’s franchise-altering trade in the rear view mirror on Thursday night as they kicked off their post-James Harden era with a gutsy comeback NBA win over the San Antonio Spurs.
Journeyman Christian Wood scored a team high 27 points and had 15 rebounds for the Rockets in a 109-105 win over the Spurs a day after Houston sent shockwaves through the NBA when they traded three time league scoring champion Harden to the Brooklyn Nets as part of a mammoth multi-team deal.
Sterling Brown delivered 23 points and Jae’Sean Tate had 13 points and 10 assists for short-handed Houston, who were coming off back-to-back blowout losses at home to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Asked what the feeling was like in the Rockets’ dressing room one day after the blockbuster deal, Wood correlated it to the never give up mindset of the late Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant.
“We have the Mamba mentality. That means everybody is thinking, everybody has a lot to prove,” Wood said. “We are all dogs out there. It starts with DeMarcus (Cousins) to me. Everybody wants to come out and play hard.”