By Adrian Stewart Co
Jalen Green struggled in his NBA debut as Houston Rockets suffered a 124-106 defeat to Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2021-2022 season on Wednesday night (Thursday in the Philippines) at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Green, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Rookie Draft, finished with nine points on 4-of-14 shooting from the field, to go with four rebounds, four assists and a steal.
The Filipino-American guard misfired his early attempts before finally making his first-ever NBA conversion on a reverse layup at the 3:52 mark of the first quarter.
The Rockets, however, were pounded by the Timberwolves behind baskets from Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards and D’Angelo Russell to widen the lead for good.
Towns finished the match with double-double 30 points and 10 rebounds, Edwards added 29 markers, while Russell drilled four triples to end up with 22 points for the Timberwolves.
Christian Wood spearheaded the Rockets with 16 points, Eric Gordon added 15 markers, while Daniel Theis, Kevin Porter Jr. and rookie Alphen Sengun had 11 points apiece.
Meanwhile, PJ Washington drilled two go-ahead free throws as Charlotte Hornets completed its come-from-behind 123-122 victory over Indiana Pacers at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Trailing 122-121, Washington drew a foul from Pacers’ Torrey Craig with four seconds remaining to surge the Hornets ahead at 123-122. Charlotte then forced Indiana forward Domantas Sabonis to miss his attempt to seal the win.
Washington finished the match with five points, five rebounds and three assists for Hornets, which went on a rampage in the second half after trailing 75-59 at the half.
LaMelo Ball led the Hornets with 31 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, Gordon Hayward added 24 markers, while Kelly Oubre Jr. and Ish Smith had 14 points apiece.
Meanwhile, Chicago Bulls overcame an early deficit to defeat Detroit Pistons, 94-88, at the Little Ceasars Arena in Detroit, Michigan.
Zach LaVine led the Bulls’ offense with 34 points, DeMar DeRozan added 17 markers, while Nikola Vucevic had double-double 15 points and 15 rebounds./ASC, WDJ