Rockets center Christian Wood scored 20 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks on Saturday when Houston (2-2) won their second consecutive home game against the Sacramento Kings 102-94 (box score).
Wood also showed the ability to play crucial minutes at the end of the game, without getting dirty. Despite suffering his fifth foul in the third quarter, Wood scored again at 8:00 in the fourth period and played the rest of the match without committing a sixth foul (which would have disqualified him). His presence of blocking pitch and mobility as a six-foot-tall, athletic man proved to be critical to Houston’s defensive scheme.
In all, the Rockets limited the Kings (3-3) to 30 points in the second half – 17 in the third quarter and 13 in the fourth. This generated a very defensive turnaround, after giving up 64 in the first half.
In the attack, Wood scored 20 or more points for a fourth game in a row to start his career in Houston (fifth including pre-season). He scored a pair of 3 points early in the game and then routinely provided a lob presence for point guard John Wall in pick-and-roll opportunities.
Despite being without All-Star guard James Harden (ankle sprain), Wood, Wall’s (28 points) and Eric Gordon (21) punch was enough to lift the Rockets over 100 for a fourth straight game.
For the 2020-21 season so far, Wood now averages 23.8 points (55.7% FG), 10.8 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game. He’s among the top 15 in the NBA in those categories, and if kept, those numbers could put the 25-year-old in the race for an All-Star spot.
Wood and the Rockets will return to action on Monday with a home division clash against rival Dallas. The delivery of the Toyota Center is scheduled for 19h in the center, while Houston closes a house of three games.