Budinger shines as Rockets hold off the Raptors 114-105
Chase Budinger spearheaded an explosive performance from the Rocket’s bench, as Houston shook off a rocky start to defeat the short-handed Toronto Raptors 114-105 in a tightly contested match.
Budinger scored 22 points and Houston's reserves comprehensively outscored (65-23) and out-rebounded (28-11) their counterparts, as the Houston Rockets fought off a huge night from DeMar DeRozan.
DeRozan pulled off one of the most sensational performances of his career by pounding a game-high 37 points on 12-for-21 shooting. His efforts though were rocked by the cold shooting of his colleagues, as the Raps slumped to their fourth defeat in the last
five games.
The Rockets ace guard Kevin Martin said after the game, "We won this game because of our bench. If it wasn't for our bench tonight, it would've been a long night for us."
The odds were heavily pitched against the Raptors on New Year’s Eve as they came into the match, severely undermined by injuries to their leading scorer (Andreas Bargnani), starting forward (Sony Weems) and top long-range threat (Peja Stojakovic).
On the night though, the men from Toronto really turned on the heat as they got off to a blistering start. The Toronto offence set the court ablaze as they bludgeoned the Rockets in the paint and on the boards in the first quarter. The Rockets were reduced
to 6-of-19 shooting from the floor and missed all three shots from long range, as the Raptors thundered to a 34-20 lead after the first twelve minutes of play.
Houston turned up with a completely changed line-up in the second quarter, which proved to be a master stroke, as the Rockets reserves cast a spell over the Raptors. The Rockets found their target on the first four attempts from the floor and showcased a
brutal display of post-strength, limiting Toronto to only two fast break points in the period. The resolute defence sparked life into their struggling offence as well. The Rockets converted 18-of-28 field shots to notch up a 42 point period, and headed into
the locker room with a 62-55 advantage.
The Rockets kept the away team at bay going into the second half as well. The Raps though kept chipping away at the host’s lead, on the back of 13 points in the third quarter from DeRozan. Then Leandro Barbosa’s layup with over two minutes to go in the period
pulled them to within three points. This was the closest that Toronto got as Houston went on an eight point spurt bridging the third and the fourth quarter, to make a game-breaking blow-out surge. It was all Houston after that as they held off another 16-point
effort by DeRozan to win 114-105.
Kevin Martin led all Houston’s starters with 20 points, while rookie Patrick Patterson pulled off a career high effort with 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Rockets.
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