Rockets use third-quarter surge to roll past Grizzlies

Tari Eason scored 13 points off the bench and was central to a third-quarter surge that helped the Houston Rockets to a 128-108 victory over the visiting Memphis Grizzlies on Friday.

Eason nailed a pair of 3-pointers during a 22-2 run that turned Houston's nine-point deficit into a 98-83 lead entering the fourth. Jalen Green delivered a transition dunk for a 77-76 lead at the 5:27 mark, erasing what once was a 12-point deficit.

Green led seven Rockets in double figures with 22 points. Jabari Smith Jr. (14 points, 16 rebounds) and Alperen Sengun (16 points, 15 rebounds) recorded double-doubles for Houston while Dillon Brooks chipped in 18 points and Fred VanVleet added 16 points. Cam Whitmore and Amen Thompson combined for 20 points and nine rebounds off the bench.

Green also totaled six rebounds, four assists and three steals. He made 4 of 8 3-pointers.

Ja Morant led the Grizzlies with 24 points while Desmond Bane added 17. Rookie Zach Edey had 13 points and nine rebounds. Memphis shot 14 for 46 following the intermission.

Both teams drilled six 3-pointers in the opening period. The Grizzlies erased an early five-point deficit and took a 29-27 lead at the 3:10 mark. Scotty Pippen Jr. kept the Grizzlies afloat after Bane picked up two fouls with 9:59 left in the first quarter. Pippen had eight points, two rebounds and two assists in the opening frame that ended in a 38-38 tie.

The Rockets cooled off drastically in the second, going nearly six minutes between field goals before a Green 3 cut the Grizzlies' lead to 53-45. Morant teamed with Bane to tally 27 first-half points that helped Memphis to a 65-59 halftime lead.

Houston went just 6-for-23 from the floor in the second. Every Houston reserve recorded a negative plus-minus in the first half, but that tide turned in the third quarter.

--Field Level Media