The Houston Rockets ran away from the hapless Dallas Mavericks last night, winning 111-99 to go up 2-0 in their best-of-seven first round series. The biggest story for the Rockets so far involves their two former AAU teammates, Dwight Howard and Josh Smith. Howard has picked up right where he left off in last year’s playoffs, looking like the defensive force he was back in his Orlando days. Meanwhile, J-Smoove, once the most unwanted player in the NBA, is playing out of his mind.
Smith finished with 15 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists, with almost all of those numbers coming in the second half. That’s also when Smith connected with Howard on six alley-oops, which absolutely demoralized the visiting Mavs. With Chandler Parsons reportedly out for the remainder of the first round, and the Rajon Rondo soap opera, a series many thought was a toss-up may not even get back to Houston at this point.
[NBA]
