HOUSTON (AP) 鈥� Jalen Green had 26 points and 11 rebounds, and the Houston Rockets beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 117-103 on Saturday for their fifth straight victory.
Jabari Smith Jr. added 20 points, Amen Thompson had 18 and Fred VanVleet finished with 13 points and 16 assists for the Rockets, who made 15 3-pointers and outscored Cleveland 56-46 in the paint.
Green added four assists while hitting 4 of 9 from 3.
鈥淲e started off pretty hot and were moving the ball,鈥� Green said. 鈥淥nce they were falling, it was a confidence builder. We were just doing what we鈥檝e been doing, started hitting shots and did our thing.鈥�
Houston led 70-54 at halftime and entered the fourth quarter with a 25-point lead.
鈥淓arly in the ballgame, you could see we were getting outworked and out-scrapped,鈥� Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. 鈥淔or us, the defense sets our tone and when we don鈥檛 do that, we don鈥檛 give yourself a chance to win.鈥�
The Rockets have won seven of their last eight, pulling within three games of the Golden State Warriors for the final Western Conference play-in spot.
鈥淭he common theme is to just play good,鈥� VanVleet said. 鈥淓verything else will take care of itself. If we鈥檙e playing good basketball and playing together, I think we鈥檒l have a shot down the stretch. It鈥檚 right there for us, but we鈥檝e just got to continue to stay on the track that we鈥檙e on.鈥�
Caris LeVert scored 21 points for Cleveland. Georges Niang had 14 and Donovan Mitchell added 13.
鈥淚 think the switching affected them and forced them to play a lot more 1-on-1,鈥� Rockets coach Ime Udoka said. 鈥淲e did a good job with all the bodies we had. I loved our effort, defensively, from the start, and specifically in the third quarter to come out with that start and really kind of put it away early there. It was a great win for us.鈥�
Mitchell was playing in his second game back from a seven-game absence with a left knee bruise. Mitchell appeared to sustain a bloody nose in the second half and sat much of the fourth quarter. The Cavs were without Max Strus (right knee sprain) and Evan Mobley (left ankle sprain).
鈥淚 mean, no disrespect to some guys, but I鈥檓 not really blowing by people right now, and that鈥檚 disappointing and it鈥檚 affecting me,鈥� Mitchell said.
鈥淚 want to be out there, but it鈥檚 clear as day, even to myself. I can鈥檛 fool myself. We鈥檒l get it right and be ready for when that time comes.鈥�
Mitchell said he will likely rest the next game to allow his knee more time to heal.
鈥淒onovan is giving it what he鈥檚 got,鈥� Bickerstaff said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 doing a great job of sharing the ball. Obviously, he missed some time and is working his way back in. I鈥檓 not concerned about Donovan鈥檚 game because I know when he鈥檚 on the floor, he鈥檚 giving us a chance to win.鈥�
Cavs veteran center Tristan Thompson made his return from a 25-game NBA suspension for violating the league鈥檚 anti-drug policy by testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs. Thompson had five points and five rebounds in 16 minutes.
Cleveland hasn鈥檛 won back-to-back games since Feb. 25-27, going 4-6 since. The Cavs fell one game behind Milwaukee for second place in the Eastern Conference.
鈥淭his is a marathon,鈥� Niang said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e looking to play our best basketball going into the playoffs. Obviously, we have some injuries and some stuff we need to get figured out. As they say in the Boston Marathon, we鈥檙e at Heartbreak Hill. We鈥檙e climbing and clawing, and that鈥檚 what we鈥檙e going to do to keep improving and keep getting better.鈥�
UP NEXT
Cavaliers: At Indiana on Monday night.
Rockets: Visit Washington on Tuesday night.
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AP NBA:
The Associated Press
