Houston Rockets vs. Philadelphia 76ers recap: Philly strikes back

HOUSTON, TX - OCTOBER 30: Eric Gordon
HOUSTON, TX - OCTOBER 30: Eric Gordon /
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The Rockets dropped their second straight game, this time to the 76ers.

The Houston Rockets (5-3) have lost their 3rd game of the season 115-107. The Philadelphia 76ers (3-4) have won a second straight after great performances all around.

The shooting, once again, was the downfall for the Rockets. They shot just 13/47 from long range and 40% overall. The Sixers were able to out-rebound the Rockets by 13 despite turning the ball over more (19 to 15).

Let’s take a look at some of the stats:

The Stats

James Harden – 29 points, 7 assists, 4 steals

Eric Gordon – 25 points, 8/18 shooting

Clint Capela – 12 points, 15 rebounds

For the Sixers, Ben Simmons had a near triple-double of 24 points, 7 rebounds & 9 assists. Joel Embiid also had a strong game, finishing with 22 points and 9 rebounds.

Highlights

Despite the tough loss, the Rockets still had some highlights.

Don't leave @CapelaClint open..@JHarden13 will find him. pic.twitter.com/XsRZbCCSDT

— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) October 31, 2017

James Harden had 9 assists tonight, many of which to Clint Capela. Their connection grows stronger and stronger each game!

https://twitter.com/HoustonRockets/status/925176962783633408

Harden was also able to show off a little bit of defense tonight. He finished with 4 steals.

https://twitter.com/HoustonRockets/status/925181319759491072

Luc Mbah a Moute had a pretty good night, including this tough basket on the fast break. He finished with 11 points but had some early foul trouble.

Takeaways

The Sixers are a young and talented team that took advantage of a lazy Rockets squad tonight. Still, Houston had a chance to come back late and even cut the lead down to 1 with 3 minutes to go. The Rockets are desperately needing Chris Paul right about now.

The minutes load on the players has been pretty crazy.

Those minutes ??? pic.twitter.com/AVAEc2gJOA

— Space City Scoop (@SpaceCity_Scoop) October 31, 2017

Chris Paul coming back should help that out some, but Coach D’Antoni needs to use more than 8 players or they’ll be wiped out by the end of the year. 23 points from the bench are a bad number normally, but with it being from only 3 players, that isn’t too shabby.

Next game

The Rockets have a day off and then play the Knicks on Wednesday in New York. The game will be on ESPN. Be sure to catch our preview on Space City Scoop and follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook!

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