The Rockets' night ends with a buzzkill as the Hornets escape 110-105

What was shaping up to be an encouraging season-opening win over the Charlotte Hornets gradually turned into disaster for the Houston Rockets as they blew an 18-point lead en route to a 110-105 loss on Wednesday night. The Rockets cruised to a lopsided victory in the first half before the undermanned but resilient Hornets continually built a double-digit lead and gave their first-year head coach Charles Lee his first W.

For Houston, this is a disappointing result given the obviousness. The crux of this game is the battle on the boards, as Houston got off to a hot start with Alperen Sengun (25 points, 18 rebounds, 5 rebounds, 4 assists) collecting 11 of his rebounds in the first quarter alone. Charlotte's starting center Mark Williams missed the opener due to injury and Sengun made them pay early as the Hornets couldn't keep him away from the plate.

However, the final box score shows that the Hornets actually outscored the Rockets 56-43 tonight as Charlotte unleashed an attack on the boards in the second half, especially in the minutes when Sengun took a break.

Another arrow towards Houston's woes can be seen directly with the up-and-down performances of Jalen Green (28 points on 9-23 FG and 5-15 3PT) and Fred VanVleet (14 points on 4-18 FG and 2-18 FG ) can be associated with the starting lineup. 11 3PT). Green started relatively well from the field, hitting three of his first four three-point attempts, but he ended the second quarter in rough fashion, missing four straight attempts.

It was a struggle for the rest of the game until he and VanVleet managed some jumpers near the end of the game. Unfortunately for the Rockets, these difficult periods significantly affected the flow of the game, as Charlotte was able to make up ground after Houston's brick-fest.

Already without Williams and a likely fifth starter in Josh Green, Charlotte was also without the talented Brandon Miller, who suffered a hip injury, in the second half. Somehow, someway, the Hornets managed to pull through by leaning on LaMelo Ball (34 points, 11 assists and 8 rebounds) and getting a spark off the bench from Tre Mann (24 points and 6 rebounds). Ball looked particularly good late in the game as he made some heads-up plays to capitalize on the Rockets' lack of concentration.

By returning to the rebounding spot from before, the Hornets were able to secure several second chances late in the fourth quarter as Sengun was on the bench or subbed off for defensive reasons. It was a stark contrast to earlier in the game when he made them pay for being the smaller team on the pitch. One of those slips led to Grant Williams getting a clear look from deep, which ultimately sealed the fate of this game.

Aside from the negative aspects of this loss, there were many good observations to take away from this game.

Despite having the worst plus/minus on the court at -19, Amen Thompson (13 points and 4 rebounds) appeared to be a player ready to make a big jump on this team this season. There were still a few times he knocked down open threes, but the one he took and put in the corner looked encouraging.

Sengun also seemed less hesitant to shoot from distance as he took a 2-3 lead after a three-pointer. Jabari Smith Jr. (8 points and 5 rebounds) didn't have the best performance, but he seemed more comfortable dribbling the court and he even hit some counterattacks that I'm excited to watch. Reed Sheppard (4 points and 3 assists in 16 minutes) didn't have the most spectacular debut, but rest assured, he seemed capable of manning the second unit as he gains more experience.

Ime Udoka seems determined to rely on the “core” as the bench unit consisted of Thompson, Sheppard, Cam Whitmore and Tari Eason. Jock Landale was the substitute when Steven Adams was ruled out this evening.

Overall, this was another annoying defeat even though the season has technically just started, but there is light at the end of the tunnel if the team can stay focused for the entire 48 minutes. Sengun and Green looked really good at their best tonight, with the former imposing his will and the latter showing top-notch shooting technique. However, if we want them to reach their full potential, they absolutely need to curb the silly turnovers and shooting mentality that took over in this game.

One down, 81 left.