HOU

Rockets hope to have Fred VanVleet vs. Warriors in NBA Cup quarterfinals

FLM
Dec 11, 2024

The Rockets are well aware of what veteran guard Fred VanVleet provides, particularly his ability to score and distribute the basketball without committing turnovers.

When VanVleet is unavailable, the Rockets remain a work in progress. But Houston took a step forward on Sunday when VanVleet was sidelined with a knee injury, cruising to a 117-106 road win over the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Rockets could get their trusty veteran back on Wednesday, as VanVleet told The Houston Chronicle that he is good to go for the team's NBA Cup quarterfinal clash against the visiting Golden State Warriors.

VanVleet averages 16 points per game -- good for third on the team -- and leads the Rockets with 5.9 assists while committing just 1.2 turnovers.

Against the Clippers, the Rockets' ran offense through Alperen Sengun, Jalen Green and VanVleet's replacement, Amen Thompson. The results were positive, as Sengun and Thompson combined for 10 assists while Green led all scorers with 31 points. VanVleet was missed, but Houston found an alternate path to victory.

"He's such a calming influence for the team that kind of gets us into what we need to a lot," Rockets coach Ime Udoka said of VanVleet, who is in his ninth NBA season and his second with Houston.

"You still want guys to grow and learn that, so when he's not out there they're forced to do it a little bit more," Udoka said. "We then can go through a few different guys to initiate offense. Figure out other ways to do it. When a guy is down we've done a good job of stepping up. Figure out how to do it by committee."

Added Green: "Fred is a big part of our team but I think we held it down for him. It's going to be good momentum going into Wednesday."

Houston will need all the positive momentum it can generate against the Warriors, who have won 15 consecutive games in the series following a 99-93 win last Thursday in San Francisco.

The Rockets trailed by 31 points in the first half of the first meeting between the teams this season and rallied to force overtime before falling 127-121 in overtime at home on Nov. 2.

Wednesday's winner will advance to face either Dallas or Oklahoma City in the NBA Cup semifinals on Saturday in Las Vegas.

The Warriors were without Stephen Curry for both of the teams' prior meetings this season and Draymond Green (left calf) was sidelined in the victory last week.

Both returned and played pivotal roles in a 114-106 home win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday. Curry tallied a game-high 30 points with eight assists, while Green added six points, six rebounds and seven assists.

The Rockets and Warriors have contested memorable postseason battles in the past decade, with Golden State eliminating Houston in 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019. The Warriors' wins in 2015 and 2018 sent them to the NBA Finals.

While the NBA Cup won't match the intensity of those playoff matchups, the energy on Wednesday will still be higher than a normal regular-season meetup.

"There's still an appreciation for a moment, like a build-up for a game," Curry said. "We all want to get to Vegas for sure so we'll give everything we've got to it. It's a little different context than the playoffs."

--Field Level Media

Preview not available

4th Quarter
GS
Warriors
17
HOU
Rockets
14

Time		Play	Score
4:26		Rockets 60 second timeout
4:27	+3	Brandin Podziemski makes three point jump shot	86-82
4:45		Fred VanVleet turnover (bad pass) (Buddy Hield steals)
4:52		Fred VanVleet defensive rebound
4:53		Lindy Waters III misses three point jump shot
5:19	+3	Jabari Smith Jr. makes three point jump shot (Fred VanVleet assists)	83-82
5:29		Lindy Waters III turnover (bad pass) (Alperen Sengun steals)
5:40		Rockets turnover (shot clock violation)
5:40		Rockets offensive rebound
5:41		Fred VanVleet misses three point jump shot
5:55		Brandin Podziemski kicked ball violation
6:13	+3	Lindy Waters III makes three point jump shot (Brandin Podziemski assists)	83-79
6:33	+2	Amen Thompson makes two point cutting dunk (Tari Eason assists)	80-79
6:50		Warriors turnover (8-second violation)
7:01		Fred VanVleet turnover (lost ball) (Brandin Podziemski steals)
7:16	+2	Draymond Green makes two point turnaround jump shot	80-77
7:37	+2	Dillon Brooks makes two point running dunk	78-77
7:39		Lindy Waters III turnover (bad pass) (Dillon Brooks steals)
8:02		Warriors 60 second timeout
8:06	+3	Tari Eason makes three point running jump shot (Amen Thompson assists)	78-75
8:12		Amen Thompson defensive rebound
8:14		Stephen Curry misses two point jump shot
8:25		Dillon Brooks turnover (bad pass) (Lindy Waters III steals)
8:38		Tari Eason defensive rebound
8:40		Kevon Looney misses two point turnaround hook shot
8:56		Kevon Looney defensive rebound
8:59		Aaron Holiday misses two point driving layup
9:10		Draymond Green personal foul (Tari Eason draws the foul)
9:25	+2	Lindy Waters III makes two point driving layup	78-72
9:39		Amen Thompson personal foul (Brandin Podziemski draws the foul)
9:41		Brandin Podziemski defensive rebound
9:43		Jalen Green misses three point pullup jump shot
9:53	+3	Stephen Curry makes three point jump shot (Draymond Green assists)	76-72
10:00		Tari Eason personal foul (Draymond Green draws the foul)
10:11	+2	Tari Eason makes two point cutting dunk (Alperen Sengun assists)	73-72
10:24		Rockets 60 second timeout
10:25	+2	Kevon Looney makes two point cutting dunk (Draymond Green assists)	73-70
10:50	+2	Alperen Sengun makes two point driving floating jump shot (Jalen Green assists)	71-70
10:57		Kevon Looney personal foul (Alperen Sengun draws the foul)
11:10		Alperen Sengun defensive rebound
11:12		Draymond Green misses two point running layup
11:17		Lindy Waters III defensive rebound
11:19		Jalen Green misses two point cutting layup
11:33	+2	Brandin Podziemski makes two point cutting layup (Kevon Looney assists)	71-68
11:52		Amen Thompson turnover (lost ball) (Draymond Green steals)

3rd Quarter
GS
Warriors
32
HOU
Rockets
24

Time		Play	Score
0:00		End of period
0:00		Warriors offensive rebound
0:00		Jonathan Kuminga misses three point stepback jump shot
0:16		Warriors defensive rebound
0:18		Tari Eason misses two point driving reverse dunk
0:27		Aaron Holiday defensive rebound
0:28		Amen Thompson blocks Jonathan Kuminga's two point driving layup
0:44	+1	Alperen Sengun makes regular free throw 1 of 1	69-68
0:44		Buddy Hield shooting foul (Alperen Sengun draws the foul)
0:44	+2	Alperen Sengun makes two point putback layup	69-67
0:45		Alperen Sengun offensive rebound
0:46		Trayce Jackson-Davis blocks Jalen Green's two point driving layup
1:09	+3	Buddy Hield makes three point jump shot (Brandin Podziemski assists)	69-65
1:19		Rockets 60 second timeout
1:19		Fred VanVleet turnover (offensive foul)
1:19		Fred VanVleet offensive foul (Charge) (Brandin Podziemski draws the foul)
1:25		Tari Eason defensive rebound
1:29		Buddy Hield misses three point pullup jump shot
1:46	+2	Jabari Smith Jr. makes two point pullup jump shot	66-65
2:08	+3	Buddy Hield makes three point jump shot (Trayce Jackson-Davis assists)	66-63
2:26		Lindy Waters III defensive rebound
2:29		Fred VanVleet misses three point jump shot
2:45	+3	Lindy Waters III makes three point jump shot (Brandin Podziemski assists)	63-63
3:04	+2	Dillon Brooks makes two point cutting layup (Fred VanVleet assists)	60-63
3:14		Tari Eason defensive rebound
3:16		Brandin Podziemski misses two point stepback jump shot
3:39	+2	Amen Thompson makes two point cutting dunk (Fred VanVleet assists)	60-61
3:54	+1	Trayce Jackson-Davis makes regular free throw 2 of 2	60-59
3:54	+1	Trayce Jackson-Davis makes regular free throw 1 of 2	59-59
3:54		Jabari Smith Jr. shooting foul (Trayce Jackson-Davis draws the foul)
4:02		Stephen Curry defensive rebound
4:04		Dillon Brooks misses two point jump shot
4:27		Tari Eason defensive rebound
4:29		Jonathan Kuminga misses two point driving finger roll layup
4:49		Trayce Jackson-Davis defensive rebound
4:51		Fred VanVleet misses two point driving finger roll layup
5:06	+3	Buddy Hield makes three point jump shot (Brandin Podziemski assists)	58-59
5:33	+2	Amen Thompson makes two point alley-oop dunk (Fred VanVleet assists)	55-59
5:49		Amen Thompson defensive rebound
5:49		Stephen Curry misses regular free throw 1 of 1
5:49		Rockets 60 second timeout
5:49		Fred VanVleet shooting foul (Stephen Curry draws the foul)
5:49	+2	Stephen Curry makes two point driving floating jump shot	55-57
6:02	+2	Alperen Sengun makes two point floating jump shot (Fred VanVleet assists)	53-57
6:20	+2	Buddy Hield makes two point pullup jump shot (Gary Payton II assists)	53-55
6:27		Gary Payton II offensive rebound
6:28		Jabari Smith Jr. blocks Draymond Green's two point running layup
6:34		Draymond Green defensive rebound
6:35		Alperen Sengun misses two point cutting layup
6:50	+2	Draymond Green makes two point pullup jump shot	51-55
7:02	+2	Dillon Brooks makes two point driving layup (Alperen Sengun assists)	49-55
7:21	+2	Jonathan Kuminga makes two point tip layup	49-53
7:21		Jonathan Kuminga offensive rebound
7:22		Jonathan Kuminga misses two point tip layup
7:22		Jonathan Kuminga offensive rebound
7:23		Jonathan Kuminga misses two point driving floating jump shot
7:30		Dillon Brooks personal foul (Gary Payton II draws the foul)
7:42		Warriors defensive rebound
7:44		Alperen Sengun misses two point jump shot
8:09	+2	Stephen Curry makes two point driving finger roll layup	47-53
8:24	+3	Jabari Smith Jr. makes three point running jump shot (Fred VanVleet assists)	45-53
8:30		Fred VanVleet defensive rebound
8:33		Gary Payton II misses three point jump shot
8:52	+3	Fred VanVleet makes three point jump shot (Jabari Smith Jr. assists)	45-50
9:19	+2	Stephen Curry makes two point pullup jump shot	45-47
9:28	+2	Jalen Green makes two point pullup jump shot	43-47
9:41	+2	Jonathan Kuminga makes two point driving layup	43-45
9:50		Dillon Brooks personal foul (Gary Payton II draws the foul)
10:06		Jonathan Kuminga defensive rebound
10:08		Dillon Brooks misses three point jump shot
10:09		Rockets offensive rebound
10:12		Jabari Smith Jr. misses three point jump shot
10:17		Gary Payton II turnover (bad pass) (Dillon Brooks steals)
10:19		Gary Payton II defensive rebound
10:21		Jalen Green misses three point pullup jump shot
10:36		Alperen Sengun defensive rebound
10:38		Stephen Curry misses two point driving floating bank jump shot
10:48		Jonathan Kuminga offensive rebound
10:50		Buddy Hield misses three point running jump shot
10:55		Alperen Sengun turnover (lost ball) (Draymond Green steals)
11:08	+2	Jonathan Kuminga makes two point cutting layup (Gary Payton II assists)	41-45
11:20	+1	Alperen Sengun makes regular free throw 2 of 2	39-45
11:20		Rockets offensive rebound
11:20		Alperen Sengun misses regular free throw 1 of 2
11:20		Jonathan Kuminga shooting foul (Alperen Sengun draws the foul)
11:40	+2	Gary Payton II makes two point driving finger roll layup (Jonathan Kuminga assists)	39-44

2nd Quarter
GS
Warriors
19
HOU
Rockets
24

Time		Play	Score
0:00		End of period
0:00		Warriors offensive rebound
0:02		Stephen Curry misses three point pullup jump shot
0:08		Buddy Hield defensive rebound
0:10		Buddy Hield blocks Alperen Sengun's two point turnaround jump shot
0:29		Alperen Sengun defensive rebound
0:30		Jonathan Kuminga misses two point pullup bank jump shot
0:46		Alperen Sengun turnover (bad pass) (Buddy Hield steals)
0:49		Alperen Sengun defensive rebound
0:52		Buddy Hield misses three point jump shot
1:00	+2	Alperen Sengun makes two point cutting layup (Jalen Green assists)	37-44
1:21		Rockets 60 second timeout
1:21	+2	Stephen Curry makes two point running finger roll layup	37-42
1:26		Jalen Green turnover (lost ball) (Stephen Curry steals)
1:45	+2	Draymond Green makes two point cutting finger roll layup (Stephen Curry assists)	35-42
1:57		Alperen Sengun turnover (out of bounds bad pass)
2:10		Rockets offensive rebound
2:14		Jabari Smith Jr. misses three point jump shot
2:20		Alperen Sengun offensive rebound
2:22		Fred VanVleet misses three point jump shot
2:23		Rockets offensive rebound
2:24		Stephen Curry blocks Jalen Green's two point pullup jump shot
2:46	+2	Jonathan Kuminga makes two point turnaround fadeaway jump shot	33-42
3:03	+2	Alperen Sengun makes two point turnaround hook shot (Fred VanVleet assists)	31-42
3:20		Brandin Podziemski turnover (lost ball) (Alperen Sengun steals)
3:17		Jump ball. Alperen Sengun vs. Brandin Podziemski (Fred VanVleet gains possession)
3:22		Alperen Sengun turnover (lost ball) (Brandin Podziemski steals)
3:42	+2	Buddy Hield makes two point running layup (Pat Spencer assists)	31-40
3:47		Fred VanVleet turnover (bad pass) (Pat Spencer steals)
4:03	+3	Brandin Podziemski makes three point stepback jump shot (Pat Spencer assists)	29-40
4:14		Warriors 60 second timeout
4:15	+2	Amen Thompson makes two point tip dunk	26-40
4:16		Amen Thompson offensive rebound
4:17		Jalen Green misses two point running layup
4:23		Jalen Green defensive rebound
4:24		Dillon Brooks blocks Jonathan Kuminga's two point driving layup
4:45	+2	Jalen Green makes two point stepback jump shot	26-38
4:56		Buddy Hield personal foul (Loose ball) (Jalen Green draws the foul)
4:56		Rockets defensive rebound
4:58		Brandin Podziemski misses three point jump shot
5:04		Brandin Podziemski offensive rebound
5:06		Pat Spencer misses three point jump shot
5:22		Tari Eason personal foul (Loose ball) (Trayce Jackson-Davis draws the foul)
5:22		Warriors defensive rebound
5:24		Trayce Jackson-Davis blocks Tari Eason's two point putback layup
5:25		Tari Eason offensive rebound
5:26		Buddy Hield blocks Dillon Brooks's two point driving layup
5:48		Amen Thompson defensive rebound
5:50		Jonathan Kuminga misses three point jump shot
5:57		Jabari Smith Jr. turnover (lost ball) (Pat Spencer steals)
6:15	+2	Pat Spencer makes two point fadeaway jump shot	26-36
6:29	+2	Jalen Green makes two point floating jump shot	24-36
6:41		Warriors turnover (shot clock violation)
7:10	+2	Jalen Green makes two point driving dunk	24-34
7:19		Jalen Green defensive rebound
7:21		Buddy Hield misses three point jump shot
7:24		Jalen Green turnover (bad pass) (Gary Payton II steals)
7:29		Warriors turnover (shot clock violation)
7:31		Gary Payton II offensive rebound
7:33		Amen Thompson blocks Stephen Curry's two point driving layup
7:45		Tari Eason personal foul (Stephen Curry draws the foul)
7:54		Gary Payton II defensive rebound
7:56		Amen Thompson misses two point jump shot
8:11		Tari Eason defensive rebound
8:13		Stephen Curry misses three point stepback jump shot
8:18		Stephen Curry offensive rebound
8:22		Draymond Green misses three point jump shot
8:40	+2	Tari Eason makes two point cutting dunk (Alperen Sengun assists)	24-32
8:45		Lindy Waters III turnover (lost ball) (Jalen Green steals)
8:47		Lindy Waters III defensive rebound
8:50		Aaron Holiday misses three point jump shot
9:00		Alperen Sengun defensive rebound
9:01		Lindy Waters III misses two point driving floating jump shot
9:14	+2	Aaron Holiday makes two point driving floating jump shot (Jalen Green assists)	24-30
9:33	+2	Draymond Green makes two point running dunk (Lindy Waters III assists)	24-28
9:40		Lindy Waters III defensive rebound
9:41		Tari Eason misses two point driving layup
9:52	+2	Trayce Jackson-Davis makes two point driving dunk (Stephen Curry assists)	22-28
10:00		Jalen Green turnover (lost ball) (Gary Payton II steals)
9:57		Jump ball. Gary Payton II vs. Jalen Green (Stephen Curry gains possession)
10:01		Jalen Green defensive rebound
10:04		Stephen Curry misses three point pullup jump shot
10:14	+1	Alperen Sengun makes regular free throw 2 of 2	20-28
10:14	+1	Alperen Sengun makes regular free throw 1 of 2	20-27
10:14		Draymond Green shooting foul (Alperen Sengun draws the foul)
10:30		Warriors turnover (shot clock violation)
10:30		Warriors offensive rebound
10:31		Kyle Anderson misses two point driving bank jump shot
10:54		Warriors 60 second timeout
10:54	+2	Alperen Sengun makes two point running layup (Aaron Holiday assists)	20-26
11:00		Stephen Curry turnover (bad pass) (Aaron Holiday steals)
11:12	+2	Jalen Green makes two point driving floating jump shot	20-24
11:29	+2	Stephen Curry makes two point driving finger roll layup	20-22
11:40	+2	Amen Thompson makes two point running reverse layup (Aaron Holiday assists)	18-22
11:46		Draymond Green turnover (bad pass) (Jalen Green steals)

1st Quarter
GS
Warriors
18
HOU
Rockets
20

Time		Play	Score
0:00		End of period
0:00		Warriors offensive rebound
0:01		Brandin Podziemski misses three point stepback jump shot
0:04	+2	Tari Eason makes two point cutting layup (Amen Thompson assists)	18-20
0:06		Gary Payton II personal foul (Amen Thompson draws the foul)
0:21		Kyle Anderson turnover (out of bounds bad pass)
0:27		Aaron Holiday personal foul (Kyle Anderson draws the foul)
0:40		Kevon Looney defensive rebound
0:42		Fred VanVleet misses three point jump shot
0:44		Amen Thompson offensive rebound
0:47		Aaron Holiday misses three point jump shot
1:00	+3	Stephen Curry makes three point stepback jump shot	18-18
1:09		Stephen Curry defensive rebound
1:11		Alperen Sengun misses two point turnaround hook shot
1:30		Alperen Sengun defensive rebound
1:32		Brandin Podziemski misses two point pullup jump shot
1:43		Alperen Sengun kicked ball violation
1:52		Kevon Looney defensive rebound
1:54		Alperen Sengun misses three point jump shot
2:01		Alperen Sengun defensive rebound
2:03		Lindy Waters III misses three point jump shot
2:09		Warriors 60 second timeout
2:15		Kevon Looney defensive rebound
2:17		Fred VanVleet misses three point jump shot
2:38		Dillon Brooks defensive rebound
2:40		Brandin Podziemski misses two point driving floating bank jump shot
2:54		Kevon Looney defensive rebound
2:56		Fred VanVleet misses three point pullup jump shot
3:08		Jonathan Kuminga turnover (bad pass) (Amen Thompson steals)
3:19		Kevon Looney defensive rebound
3:21		Amen Thompson misses two point driving finger roll layup
3:34		Rockets defensive rebound
3:38		Buddy Hield misses three point jump shot
3:51		Buddy Hield defensive rebound
3:53		Dillon Brooks misses three point jump shot
4:01		Warriors turnover (shot clock violation)
4:01		Warriors offensive rebound
4:02		Jonathan Kuminga misses three point turnaround fadeaway jump shot
4:25	+1	Dillon Brooks makes regular free throw 1 of 1	15-18
4:25		Buddy Hield shooting foul (Dillon Brooks draws the foul)
4:25	+2	Dillon Brooks makes two point driving floating jump shot (Amen Thompson assists)	15-17
4:41		Tari Eason defensive rebound
4:41		Jonathan Kuminga misses regular free throw 1 of 1
4:41		Dillon Brooks shooting foul (Jonathan Kuminga draws the foul)
4:41	+2	Jonathan Kuminga makes two point driving layup	15-15
4:50	+2	Jabari Smith Jr. makes two point turnaround jump shot	13-15
5:01		Dillon Brooks defensive rebound
5:03		Buddy Hield misses three point jump shot
5:17		Lindy Waters III defensive rebound
5:19		Fred VanVleet misses two point driving floating jump shot
5:41	+1	Jonathan Kuminga makes regular free throw 2 of 2	13-13
5:41		Warriors offensive rebound
5:41		Jonathan Kuminga misses regular free throw 1 of 2
5:41		Rockets 60 second timeout
5:41		Jalen Green shooting foul (Jonathan Kuminga draws the foul)
5:43		Jonathan Kuminga offensive rebound
5:45		Stephen Curry misses three point pullup jump shot
5:55	+2	Alperen Sengun makes two point turnaround fadeaway jump shot	12-13
6:15		Alperen Sengun defensive rebound
6:16		Jonathan Kuminga misses two point fadeaway jump shot
6:30		Draymond Green defensive rebound
6:33		Fred VanVleet misses three point jump shot
6:35		Dillon Brooks offensive rebound
6:37		Jalen Green misses two point stepback jump shot
7:01	+3	Jonathan Kuminga makes three point jump shot (Lindy Waters III assists)	12-11
7:15		Warriors defensive rebound
7:17		Jonathan Kuminga blocks Jalen Green's two point driving layup
7:22		Jalen Green defensive rebound
7:24		Jonathan Kuminga misses three point pullup jump shot
7:43	+2	Jabari Smith Jr. makes two point pullup jump shot	9-11
8:01	+2	Gary Payton II makes two point driving dunk (Stephen Curry assists)	9-9
8:05	+2	Alperen Sengun makes two point driving reverse layup (Dillon Brooks assists)	7-9
8:23	+3	Stephen Curry makes three point jump shot (Draymond Green assists)	7-7
8:28		Warriors offensive rebound
8:30		Draymond Green misses three point jump shot
8:46		Gary Payton II defensive rebound
8:48		Fred VanVleet misses two point running pullup jump shot
8:54		Dillon Brooks defensive rebound
8:56		Gary Payton II misses three point jump shot
9:11	+3	Jabari Smith Jr. makes three point jump shot (Alperen Sengun assists)	4-7
9:30	+2	Buddy Hield makes two point running finger roll layup (Stephen Curry assists)	4-4
9:36		Jalen Green turnover (bad pass) (Stephen Curry steals)
9:50		Draymond Green turnover (out of bounds bad pass)
10:00		Jalen Green turnover (out of bounds step)
10:18		Draymond Green turnover (out of bounds lost ball)
10:30	+2	Fred VanVleet makes two point pullup jump shot	2-4
10:52		Jabari Smith Jr. defensive rebound
10:52		Jonathan Kuminga misses regular free throw 1 of 1
10:52		Fred VanVleet shooting foul (Jonathan Kuminga draws the foul)
10:52	+2	Jonathan Kuminga makes two point cutting layup (Draymond Green assists)	2-2
11:04		Gary Payton II defensive rebound
11:06		Jabari Smith Jr. misses three point jump shot
11:12		Draymond Green turnover (out of bounds bad pass)
11:28	+2	Alperen Sengun makes two point putback layup	0-2
11:34		Alperen Sengun offensive rebound
11:36		Jalen Green misses three point jump shot
11:38		Buddy Hield turnover (bad pass) (Alperen Sengun steals)
11:39		Buddy Hield defensive rebound
11:40		Buddy Hield blocks Alperen Sengun's two point driving layup
12:00		Draymond Green vs. Alperen Sengun (Jabari Smith Jr. gains possession)

Rockets 60 second timeout