National Basketball Association
Houston 115, Cleveland 104
When: 8:00 PM ET, Wednesday, February 2, 2022
Where: Toyota Center, Houston, Texas
Officials: #44 Brett Nansel, #54 Ray Acosta, #61 Courtney Kirkland
Attendance: 14163

Christian Wood scored 21 points and Kevin Porter Jr. added a late 3-pointer plus an alley-oop against his former team as the Houston Rockets snapped an 11-game home losing skid with a 115-104 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers Wednesday.

Wood followed a three-point play from Cavaliers rookie Evan Mobley that cut the Houston lead to 105-102 with 2:44 left with a 10-footer and a 3-pointer that keyed a 10-2 closing run. Porter, who totaled 16 points and seven assists, helped seal the Rockets' first home win since Dec. 8.

Rockets rookie Jalen Green, picked second overall in the 2021 NBA Draft and one spot ahead of Mobley, tallied 21 points, five rebounds and five assists to emerge from a prolonged slump.

Garrison Mathews and KJ Martin added 16 and 10 points, respectively, off the Houston bench.

Mobley paired a career-high 29 points with 12 rebounds while Kevin Love added 21 points and 13 rebounds off the bench. Love scored 19 in the second and third periods combined to keep the Cavaliers afloat, but they could not overcome a 15-point deficit and 12 missed free throws.

Mobley was effective early, tallying eight points and three boards to help the Cavaliers build their largest lead of the game at 17-10 early in the first quarter. But when Mathews sank a 3 through a foul the Rockets were within one point, and despite Mathews' missed free throw, the Rockets later claimed the lead following back-to-back 3s from Mathews and Josh Christopher.

Rookie Alperen Sengun (nine points, eight rebounds, three assists) was instrumental in helping Houston extend to a 57-42 lead with his two-way play, but the Cavaliers used a late 9-2 run to cut into that deficit.

But Cleveland struggled to defend without fouling prior to the intermission, sending the Rockets to the line 29 times, the most by a team in any half this season. That helped Houston take a 64-53 lead at the half, despite Love and Mobley posting double-doubles.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Cleveland   Houston
Evan Mobley 29 Scoring Jalen Green 21
Brandon Goodwin 8 Assists Kevin Porter Jr. 7
Kevin Love 13 Rebounds Alperen Sengun 8
Evan Mobley 5 Free Throws Made Jalen Green 6
Brandon Goodwin 1 Steals Jae'Sean Tate 4
Jarrett Allen 1 Blocks Jalen Green 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Cleveland 104 51.2 7-21 15-27 23 48 4 6 19
Houston 115 47.6 14-40 23-33 25 37 3 11 12
Upcoming Games
  • Houston will play their next game on the road against San Antonio. The Rockets have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .216 after a loss.
  • Cleveland will play their next game on the road against Charlotte. The Cavaliers have a W/L % of .625 after a win and .550 after a loss.