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SOURCE SPORTS: Rockets Beat Warriors, Advance to NBA Cup Semifinals

December 12, 2024 by newhiphopnews

After 1,756 days and 15 consecutive losses, the Houston Rockets finally defeated the Golden State Warriors, edging them out 91-90 on Wednesday night to advance to the NBA Cup semifinals. The win marked Houston’s first victory over Golden State since February 20, 2020, breaking the league’s longest active losing streak against a single opponent.

Alperen Sengun led the Rockets with 26 points and 11 rebounds, powering Houston to a dramatic 9-1 run to close the game. Down six with two minutes left, the Rockets rallied, sparked by Fred VanVleet’s clutch three-pointer with 1:16 remaining. Sengun followed with a layup to bring Houston within one, setting up a critical sequence in the final seconds.

With 3.5 seconds left, Jalen Green hit two go-ahead free throws after a loose-ball foul on Golden State. On the Warriors’ final possession, Jabari Smith Jr. delivered the decisive block, sealing Houston’s first lead of the fourth quarter and the victory.

“It’s big growth for us,” Sengun said of Houston’s resilience. “Against a championship team, we finished the game good — that was great.”

Stephen Curry led the Warriors with 19 points but missed a pivotal three-pointer late. Buddy Hield, meanwhile, achieved a milestone, becoming the 17th player to reach 2,000 career three-pointers — doing so in just 656 games, second only to Curry’s 597.

The Rockets now head to Las Vegas to face the Oklahoma City Thunder in Saturday’s NBA Cup semifinals.

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Ime Udoka Ejected For Confronting LeBron James, Lakers Veteran Jokes That It Was About Thanksgiving

December 3, 2023 by newhiphopnews

Rockets head coach Ime Udoka was ejected early in the fourth quarter of Houston’s loss to the Lakers after a tense exchange of words with LeBron James. “We had some conversation and they [the referees] didn’t like what they heard,” Udoka said of the confrontation after the game. When asked about his version of events, LeBron remained equally coy. “Thanksgiving. We talked about how much we enjoyed Thanksgiving,” LeBron said playfully. The Lakers vet picked up a technical foul for his role in the dispute. However, he remained in the game.

The loss dropped Houston to 0-8 on the road this season. They are the only team yet to win away from home. However, their 8-9 record is still good enough for 10th place in the Western Conference. While the Rockets had two players surpass 20 points, there wasn’t enough consistent scoring to overcome the Lakers. Anthony Davis had a game-high 28 points for LA, while LeBron finished the night with 16. With the win, the Lakers improved to 12-9 on the year. However, they have alternated wins and losses for their last seven games.

LeBron Will Attend Bronny’s USC Debut, Even If He Has To Miss A Lakers Game

Elsewhere, LeBron recently revealed his plans regarding his son Bronny’s impending debut with USC. “Whenever he’s cleared and ready to have his first game, I already told my teammates that if they play on the same day we’re playing, I’m going to have to catch them the next game. Family over everything. But definitely got to see Bronny’s first game whenever he’s cleared and ready to go,” LeBron told reporters after the Lakers’ Thursday night loss to the Thunder.

Earlier this week, the James family announced that Bronny had received medical clearance to resume practice with USC “next week”. Furthermore, the family’s statement said that Bronny’s debut as a Trojan would come “soon after”. Of the Trojans’ next 10 games from December 11 onwards, four coincide with a Lakers’ fixture. If Bronny’s debut comes against Oregon State (December 30), Cal (January 3), Colorado (January 13), or Arizona (January 17), LeBron would be skipping a Lakers fixture. Of the four, only the matchup against Cal is a home fixture for USC. The Galen Center, USC’s home base, is a little over two miles from the Lakers’ Crypto.com Arena.

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Rockets Blow Out Lakers After LeBron James And Dillon Brooks Speak On Beef

November 9, 2023 by newhiphopnews

LeBron James may have had the better stat line, but Dillon Brooks had the last laugh as the Rockets blew out the Lakers 128-94. Jalen Green had a game-high 28 points while young center Alperen Sengun had 19 points of his own as the Rockets dropped the Lakers to 0-5 on the road this season. After promising to “lock up” LeBron, Brooks finished with 5 points and 4 rebounds. Meanwhile, LeBron, who had offered praise to Brooks earlier in the day, finished with 18 points and 6 rebounds. Rui Hachimura led the Lakers in scoring with 24. However, he was just one of three Lakers to reach double digits alongside LeBron and D’Angelo Russell.

Following the loss, the Lakers pointed to their injured-depleted roster. “I mean, we can’t build cohesion if we don’t have our unit. It’s that simple. It’s just, we’re very depleted on the injury side,” Lebron said after the loss. The Lakers are currently without Anthony Davis, Jaxson Hayes, Jarred Vanderbilt, Jalen Hood-Schfino, and Gabe Vincent. However, the team is hoping that Davis will be available for Friday’s game against Phoenix, the Lakers’ first of the in-season tournament group stage.

Lakers Making The Worst Kind Of History

In each of the Lakers’ games this season, they’ve:

– Made fewer threes than their opponent
– Shot a worse percentage from three than their opponent

They’re the first team in NBA history to do that in each of the first 8 games of a season. pic.twitter.com/xLCEunO0s6

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) November 9, 2023

The Lakers’ 3-5 start to the season is just a one-game improvement to their dismal 2-6 start last year. However, the team is continuing to make history in all the worst ways. According to ESPN, the 2023/24 Lakers are now the first team in NBA history to make fewer threes and shoot worse from three than their opponents in each of their first eight games. Furthermore, the team has a -74 first-quarter point differential, also a historically low mark.

However, things could be about to turn around for the Lakers. They face the Suns on Friday, a team they have already beaten this season. After that, it’s back to LA for games against the Blazers and Grizzlies. The Blazers are also 3-5 at the time of writing. Meanwhile, the Grizzlies have completely fallen apart thanks to some major injuries and Ja Morant’s suspension. Last year’s two-seed are currently 1-7 to open the season.

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LeBron James Gives Dillon Brooks His Flowers

November 8, 2023 by newhiphopnews

LeBron James have given glowing praise of his “rival” Dillon Brooks head of their matchup later tonight. “I think every player that is awarded with a contract is awarded for a reason, and they’re worthy of the contract that they get. So I think in his case, he was worthy of the contract he got. He’s put in the work since he came out of Oregon, and that’s what Houston found value in and he’s here. So no, I think it has nothing to do with that,” LeBron told reporters.

However, LeBron also noted that he didn’t view the game as a grudge match. “I think just the competition alone. It’s always great to go out and compete, so he’s one of those guys who likes to compete along with a lot of other guys in our league. But I don’t really dwell in the past too much. … Over the years, I kind of leave that in the past and find a way to [think about]: ‘How can we get our first road win?’ That’s what my mindset is, for sure.”

Dillon Brooks Ready For LeBron

LeBron James believes Dillon Brooks was worthy of his contract pic.twitter.com/QswfWmpCs8

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) November 8, 2023

LeBron’s comments come after Brooks issued a bold statement of his own earlier in the day. “Ready to lock him up. He’s shooting the ball well. He’s been playing well. So I’m just there to make him tired, make him get into that fourth quarter early,” Brooks told the Houston Chronicle this week. “I feel like he (James) controls the media. I feel like a lot of guys, you know, have these podcasts and love social media, but I don’t really like it. And I don’t really like media. If I didn’t have to talk to you guys I wouldn’t talk to you guys. And you know, I just block it out and just play basketball.”

Brooks’ comments came ahead of the Rockets hosting the Lakers on Wednesday night. It will be the first time the pair will take the fall after Brooks tried, and failed, to ignite a beef between them during the first round of the playoffs. Brooks called LeBron “old” and consistently got in the veteran’s face. However, LeBron and the Lakers completely cooked Brooks’ then-team, the Grizzlies. Furthermore, the Grizzlies chose to let Brooks walk in free agency, in part due to the defensive specialist focusing more on the beef than playoff basketball.

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Dillon Brooks Ready To Renew Beef With LeBron James

November 8, 2023 by newhiphopnews

Dillon Brooks showed no signs of reconciling with LeBron James ahead of the pair’s first matchup since their infamous playoff meeting earlier this year. “Ready to lock him up. He’s shooting the ball well. He’s been playing well. So I’m just there to make him tired, make him get into that fourth quarter early,” Brooks told the Houston Chronicle this week. “I feel like he (James) controls the media. I feel like a lot of guys, you know, have these podcasts and love social media, but I don’t really like it. And I don’t really like media. If I didn’t have to talk to you guys I wouldn’t talk to you guys. And you know, I just block it out and just play basketball.”

Lakers File Complaint Over LeBron Treatment

However, Dillon Brooks isn’t the only one who seemingly has it in for LeBron. Earlier this week, the Lakers filed a complaint to the league over the officiating in their recent loss to the Heat. According to sources who spoke with ESPN, the Lakers submitted numerous clips of missed calls on LeBron during the Lakers’ one-point loss. One of the more egregious missed calls submitted was a video of Heat center Thomas Bryant making contact with LeBron’s face during a dunk attempt. LeBron attempted just four free throws during the game and has only drawn fouls on 6% of his drives this season.

“What they’re telling me is not consistent with what’s actually happening on the floor. When I went for the dunk attempt against Thomas Bryant, he clearly elbowed — like, arm straight across my face. And I asked him for the explanation — well, one of the refs said that he was straight up, hands straight in the air. Two of the refs said they were blocked and they didn’t see it,” LeBron himself said of the missed calls after the game.

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Dillon Brooks Gets First Quarter Ejection In Rockets Debut

October 11, 2023 by newhiphopnews

Dillon Brooks’ debut for the Rockets lasted 4:33 before the infamous Canadian defender landed himself an ejection. Brooks was given a Flagrant 2 for a groin strike on Pacers center Daniel Theis and tossed from the game. However, Brooks defended himself to reporters after the game. “I tried to navigate a screen. I might have tapped him below the waist, but he got right back up, I don’t know. It’s weird that every time it happens to me, I get picked on. I guess it’s part of reputation.”

Brooks signed a four-year, $80 million deal with the Rockets after the Grizzlies let him walk in free agency. While a well-regarded defender, Brooks has been labeled a “dirty player” for much of his career. This was epitomized during the first round of the playoffs last season when Brooks went all-in on beefing with LeBron. That included a groin strike that saw Brooks ejected. However, Brooks’ poor performance during the series led people to argue that Brooks focused too much on the beef and not enough on the game.

High Expectations For Brooks

While the Rockets are not expected to be a contender this season, Brooks has been pegged as their veteran defensive leader. Furthermore, an impressive offseason has only heightened the expectations for him. Brooks was part of Canada’s FIBA World Cup roster. Canada took bronze ahead of the United States. Brooks was widely praised for several dominant performances, including against the US in the bronze medal match.

However, it appears that Brooks is yet to change his domestic perception. “For a flagrant 2 foul like that, you got to know if a person is doing it on purpose or intention. That’s really going at who I am as a person. That ref, Mitch, that just shows that he just doesn’t know who I am as a person. He’s just going off what’s been said,” Brooks said. “We love his aggressiveness and physicality. But reputations carry in the NBA, and people will look for certain things. You got to monitor that better,” added head coach Ime Udoka.

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Ime Udoka Says Fred VanVleet Was A “Better Fit” Than James Harden For Rockets

October 5, 2023 by newhiphopnews

As part of a profile on Jalen Green, Ime Udoka has explained why he shot down talk of bringing James Haren back to Houston. “Nothing against James but Fred [VanVleet] is just a better fit. I coached James in Brooklyn. He’s one of the smartest players I’ve ever been around. The words ‘Ime doesn’t want James’ never came out of my mouth. It was, ‘Let’s look at the best fit.’ If we want Jalen and the young guys to take the next steps, we need them to have the ball. As for me saying I don’t want James, that was never the case. It was about fit,” Udoka told ESPN.

The talk of Harden potentially reuniting with Houston burned fast and fierce at the start of the offseason. However, the rumors were cut off by Houston, Harden re-signed with the Sixers and pushed for a trade to the Clippers. Meanwhile, the Rockets gave huge contracts to VanVleet and Dillon Brooks to serve as veteran leadership for the Rockets’ developing core.

Harden Attends Training Camp

Meanwhile, James Harden has appeared at the Sixers training camp. There was speculation as to whether he would be sitting out as the team refused to trade him. However, he was present and participating earlier this week. However, the league is holding its breath for the other shoe to drop. Harden is expected to be disruptive at camp, a tactic he has used in the past to force trades out of unfavorable situations.

Elsewhere, GM Daryl Morey called for patience from fans. “Look, I mean, things need to play out. We feel strongly we have a winning team. We have a team that can win and make a lot of noise in the playoffs. I understand we need to prove that, but teams emerge. You go into last season and say a Miami and Denver were not even in the top three of teams that people thought could make the Finals. Look, we have a lot of questions to answer. Obviously, James is the big one. Coach talked about battles at different positions. But we feel we have the pieces,” Morey said earlier this week at media day.

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Drake Plays Pickup At Houston Rockets’ Practice Facility

June 24, 2023 by newhiphopnews

Drake recently pulled up to the Houston Rockets’ practice facility for a game of pickup basketball. A clip of the Toronto rapper playing circulated on social media, on Friday. It comes after the release of his new book of poetry, Titles Ruin Everything.

In the clip, Drake can be seen getting up a pair of shots. Despite the play, fans weren’t impressed with his basketball skills. When the post was published by 2Cool2Blog on Instagram, one fan wrote: “Nahhh you could tell they let Drake do what he wants look who they got guarding him cmon now [laughing emojis] they like nah I don’t wanna guard him then he mad at a foul and I’m a next bar on a record.” Another commented: “Why it always seem like they put the WORST defender on Drake so he can get his shit off.”

Drake Celebrates The Raptors’ Finals Win In 2019

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – JUNE 14: Drake carries the Larry O’Brien NBA Championship Trophy as he celebrates the Toronto Raptor’s NBA championship at XS Nightclub at Wynn Las Vegas on June 14, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images for Wynn Las Vegas)

As for the poetry book, he says that he cares about it as much as any project in his career. “I don’t know if I have ever wanted people to buy or support something more in my life…,” he wrote on social media. “Our first book is available tmrw on @drakerelated and other select retailers.” He worked on the book with his friend and songwriting collaborator, Samir.

Drake At The Rockets’ Facility

Drake hooping at the Houston Rockets practice facility pic.twitter.com/OsuntwSA7R

— Daily Loud (@DailyLoud) June 23, 2023

Drake also teased a new album in conjunction with its release. “I made an album to go with the book,” he wrote on a website that fans could access with a QR code from newspaper ads for Titles Ruin Everything. “They say they miss the old Drake girl don’t tempt me. FOR ALL THE DOGS.” The ads ran in the New York Post, Los Angeles Times, Houston Chronicle, and more.

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Nia Long Shares Message About “Revenge” After Ime Udoka Lands Rockets Job

April 29, 2023 by newhiphopnews

Nia Long shared a message about not focusing on revenge on Instagram, Saturday. The post comes after her ex-partner, Ime Udoka, landed a job as the new head coach of the Houston Rockets. Udoka was infamously suspended from the Boston Celtics for violating team policies with regard to an improper intimate relationship with a female team staff member.

“The best revenge, is no revenge, Move on. Be happy,” the statement Nia Long posted reads. She added a heart emoji in the caption of the post. It’s the second post seemingly referencing her ex that Nia Long recently shared. She also commented on a video of Stephen A. Smith defending her, thanking him for the support.

Nia Long With Ime Udoka

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – FEBRUARY 17: Actress Nia Long (L) and her Husband Ime Udoka (R) attend the BET’s 2017 American Black Film Festival Honors Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on February 17, 2017 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic)

“Even if they’re not together, that is the father of her child,” Smith began. “If you mention him and another woman, inevitably, she’s going to come up. How come nobody thought about the sister? How come they just left her out there standing on her own? I will always defend her. I will always defend her on this issue. It was- how could you do that? You didn’t have to do it that way. But to have a press conference and put this business tacitly or otherwise on Front Street, you didn’t think about Nia Long at all. But you thought about the other woman, who purportedly was white. And the one woman in this equation who was innocent and victimized was not the woman that Ime Udoka was messing around with. It was Nia Long. She was the one screwed over!”

“Thank you @stephenasmith for your support. TBC…” she wrote while adding a quote from Malcolm X. “‘The most disrespected person in America is the black woman’ – Malcolm X.” Udoka accepted the job as the head coach of the Houston Rockets on Tuesday. It’s his first gig in the league since his Celtics suspension.

Nia Long On “Revenge”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Nia Long (@iamnialong)

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John Wall Admits His Time With Rockets Was “Beyond Trash”

January 18, 2023 by newhiphopnews

John Wall says that his time with the Houston Rockets was “beyond trash.” Wall reflected on the two-year stretch he spent with the team during an appearance on the Tidal League podcast.

Wall joined the team in December 2020 following a trade from the Washington Wizards. Upon arriving, he was surprised to learn James Harden was already on his way out.

HOUSTON, TEXAS – FEBRUARY 22: John Wall #1 of the Houston Rockets looks on during the first quarter of a game against the Chicago Bulls at the Toyota Center on February 22, 2021 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)

Wall explained: “I’m going there thinking James is gonna be there once I get traded, but he already wants out. When I landed, I’m like, ‘What’s up? I’m about to land. Gotta go do my conference s–t.’ He’s like, ‘Well I’m on my way to Atlanta to go to Lil Baby’s birthday.’ The f–k? He talking about, ‘You wanna get on the jet with me?’ B—h, I just got traded here. I can’t f–k up. I’ve got to be on good terms. I don’t know how the owner is, how the GM is. I don’t know nothing.”

The Rockets ended up trading Harden to the Brooklyn Nets in January 2021. After Wall spent just a few games with Harden, the Rockets went on to finish the season with the league-worst record at 17-55.

“We were trying to lose on purpose, tanking,” Wall said.

The Rockets eventually agreed to a $41 million buyout of Wall’s deal in June 2022.

Wall currently plays with the Los Angeles Clippers, although rumors have been circulating that the team is open to moving him before the trade deadline.

Check out John Wall’s appearance on the Tidal League podcast below.

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