Mar 15, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr (10) reacts after a made basket against the Chicago Bulls during the first quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images / Erik Williams-Imagn Images
The Houston Rockets won 117-114 over the Chicago Bulls. Fred VanVleet led the way with 28 points, and all starters scored in double digits.
Houston got off to an early 7-3 lead, but Chicago found its way to a 9-0 run due to blizting Alperen Sengun, causing three turnovers by the center less than halfway into the first quarter. The majority of the period was back-and-forth between both teams, but what separated the Bulls from the Rockets was three-point shooting. Chicago finished the first 12 minutes up 29-22 due to shooting 7-for-12 from three, and Houston only shooting 2-for-13.
VanVleet had 18 points in the second quarter, and 21 in the half. The Rockets still could not find an answer for the Bulls, although they got cold from three. Houston went on a seven-point run midway through the second period and gained a lead. But it wasn’t enough as Chicago forced turnovers and turned them into transition points, scoring 13 points on fast-breaks compared to Houston’s two. Tre Jones had 12 points in the half for the Bulls.
Steven Adams played alongside Alperen Sengun to help the Rockets take a lead in the third quarter. The third period was a continuation of the back-and-forth trend of the game, but Houston was able to stop Chicago from taking a lot of midrange shots due to the double-big lineup. This made them cold from both the midrange and three-point range which ultimately led the Rockets to go up 85-83 going into the fourth quarter.
Aaron Holiday made a three-pointer early in the fourth quarter to tie the Rockets’ biggest lead of the game, leading by four points. Jalen Green continued his hot fourth quarter, making a three to put Houston up by seven points with just over four minutes left to play in the game, as well as giving himself eight points in the period. Chicago started full-court pressing late in the fourth quarter, and it led to Sengun going one-on-one with Nikola Vucevic, ending in a post-up bucket from Sengun.
Houston and Chicago traded some buckets with less than 45 seconds left in the game, and Green made a put-back layup to put the Rockets up by four points with 14.1 seconds to go. Coby White looked for a foul with less than 10 seconds to play and did not get it, which led to Holiday getting fouled and making one free throw.
The Rockets face the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night at Toyota Center. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. CST.
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