
The Houston Rockets now fall to 32-26 as the Sonics move to 47-11 in a win that gives them the season sweep of the series. The game was a rout, really, and it began with some turnovers by Houston, which Seattle took down the court and put away.
Seattle stole the ball 11 times, while Houston only managed to force seven turnovers from the Sonics.
The game was notable for a few things, so here they are in no particular order.
- James Harden scored 36 points on 15-of-26 shooting, but was absolutely ineffective as a floor leader; he finished with only four assists and no steals, no blocks, and no rebounds.
- Terrence Jones and Dwight Howard both finished with 14 points (Dwight chipping in 13 rebounds as well), but Howard also logged four turnovers and looked slow going against Gortat and Noel.
- No other Rocket scored in double digits and the team had only 23 assists as a whole.
- Seattle was stellar in transition, scoring 20 points compared to Houston's eight.
- The Rockets continued the trend of Sonics opponents getting more second-chance points than the Sonics, but they still lost.
- Houston never led once in this game.
That was the game in a nutshell. The more important development in this game was the play of rookie point guard Malik Newman, who was named player of the game.

Malik absolutely dominated all of Houston's point guards, including the vaunted defense of Patrick Beverly, and was unstoppable dishing the ball. He could do little wrong and had an all-round game (including three steals and two blocks) that should make some all-stars jealous.
This might be the last time we see him start. Brandon Jennings, the former MVP candidate, is now resuming team activities and appears to be on track for a return sometime next week (the 76ers or Wizards are the likely opponent for him). Jennings' return has been something Sonics fans initially looked forward to, but Newman's play since taking over as the full-time starter has been eye opening.
Jennings wasn't due back till mid-March, but he shaved some time off his recovery with how hard he worked ... still, the Sonics staff has no easy choice here. On the one hand, Jennings is the better player now -- he can shoot better, he can arguably pass better, and he was a fringe MVP candidate before his injury.
But Newman's insertion into the lineup was more than a pleasant surprise, it was a revelation about how good this kid is and will be. He just turned 20 and it would be a shame to banish him to the bench, especially now that we know Jamal Crawford is going to be retiring. Somehow, the Sonics need to find minutes for him in their rotation (bench Landry again? I'd hate to see Carl go, he's a great weapon in the pick and pop game). But Newman is the rookie, he was forced into the role due to the inability of Lin and Crawford to start at the point, so he looks to be the odd man out this year.
But don't believe for an instant that he's not Seattle's future, perhaps as soon as next season (but Mad Max always has something up his sleeve, doesn't he?). Tonight was the proof that he's ready to take the reins of this team if called upon again.
Go Sonics.

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