Missing a free throw intentionally almost never works as a strategy. Of course, teams rarely come back from eight points down in the final minute either.
With the Houston Rockets trailing by three points and 5.2 seconds left, Jabari Smith Jr. sank his first free throw, then missed the second, allowing Alperen Sengun to swoop in for the offensive rebound and tip-in to tie the game.
It helped that Sengun got a handful of Oshea Brissett’s jersey on his box-out, but the Rockets ran a masterful play, with Steven Adams drawing two rebounders away from the hoop.
That bucket got them to overtime, where Sengun added five points to give Houston a 144-137 win. Smith and Jalen Green each scored 30 points for the Rockets while Sengun had 11 rebounds.
Houston almost suffered a shocking upset to an injury-decimated Philadelphia 76ers team missing Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, Paul George and Kelly Oubre.
Quentin Grimes scored 46 points for the Sixers, hitting a three-pointer that gave Philly a 129-121 lead after Fred VanVleet was ejected for a flagrant foul.
Then Green hit a shot and blocked a shot on the other end, and Smith made one of his five three-pointers. Green got a layup and another steal which set up Smith’s trip to the line and Sengun’s miracle tip.
The Rockets didn’t make it easy on themselves. Tari Eason fouled out, then got doubly ejected when he committed his second technical foul. Dillon Brooks also fouled out and Houston turned the ball over 15 times.
Ultimately, both teams got what they wanted. Houston got its seventh straight win and stayed in second place in the Western Conference. Philadelphia got a gutty performance from its team and a loss to help it in its quest to keep its top-six protected pick in June.
Plus, if the Rockets need to get a big free-throw rebound in a playoff game, they’ve proven they can do it. And win a game that seemed like a guaranteed loss.
