Rockets reach huge milestone in win vs Magic

The Houston Rockets play every game like it counts.

We've seen it all season. Outside of a 6-game losing streak, the Rockets have been fiercely competitive. Even when they've lost, they haven't gone down without a fight.

Still, some games count more than others, whether the Rockets' play reflects that. Wednesday's game against the Magic had stakes.

The Rockets rose to the occasion.

Rockets hit milestone with win vs Magic

To be specific, the Rockets have clinched a postseason spot in 2024-25.

Granted, it's not a playoff spot. At 45-25, the Rockets are guaranteed a spot in the play-in tournament. Some Rockets fans will dismiss this accomplishment. They'll say that a play-in appearance was a minimum expectation in 2024-25.

Sure. The season is not over. The Rockets hold the Western Conference's second seed, and it would be catastrophic if they had to participate in the play-in tournament. This team is heading for the playoffs.

So, Rockets fans should celebrate. It's been a long road. After three seasons of shameless (or, depending who you ask, shameful) tanking, the Rockets are following up a .500 season with competitive basketball.

How did they get here?

Young Rockets shine in most recent win

Don't look at Fred VanVleet. Sure, the veteran floor general had 19 points, but he was 4/15 from the field. Dillon Brooks gave Houston a solid 15 points on 5/10 shooting from the field and 3/6 shooting from long-range, but he didn't carry this game either.

The best individual performance from the Rockets arguably came from Tari Eason. He had 16 points, 9 rebounds, 5 steals, and 4 assists. Eason is starting to make strong passing reads - that's a welcomed development for Rockets fans.

Still, Jalen Green deserves tremendous credit. He had 26 points on 8/18 shooting from the field. Green is beginning his standard March Madness run, but this time, it's coming on the heels of a season that's already been encouraging. He hasn't done enough to answer every question about his star potential, but he's trending in the right direction.

Alperen Sengun had 22 points, 12 rebounds and 4 assists. Jabari Smith Jr. chipped in 13 points on 4/6 shooting from the field. The point here is that this was a great game for the Rockets' young core. They weathered a challenging game from VanVleet to win.

They clinched a play-in spot in the process:

Now, the stakes only get higher.