NBA 2018-19: 3 Talking points from Houston Rockets vs Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics were coming off an impressive victory over the Wizards when the surging Houston Rockets came knocking on the doors of TD Garden. The visitors departed with a convincing 115-104 win and left a sour taste behind in the mouths of all those present.

James Harden and his Rockets side handed Boston their fifth loss in the last six games and improved to 38-25 (0.603) on the season. In the battle of the East's 5th and the West's 5th, Houston clearly had an upper hand for the most part of the ball game as they continued on their way up the ladder.

The Celtics slide to 38-26 (0.594) on the season, but remain at the 5th spot on the Eastern Conference leaderboard. They have now dropped seven of their last ten games, falling behind by 10.5 games to the East leaders in Milwaukee. On the other hand, the Rockets have now won seven of their last ten, currently six games behind the Warriors out West.

On that note, let's draw out some prominent talking points from this encounter down in Boston.

#1 James Harden and Eric Gordon combine for 74 points

Eric Gordon is averaging more than 16 ppg this season so far.

Eric Gordon's efficiency against the Celtics leveled up when he shot 11-of-18 from the floor, along with hitting eight 3-pointers on a dazzling 67% conversion rate from distance. After a 0-5 showing from deep in his previous game against the Hornets, the Rockets shooting guard did enough in this one to justify his spot on the roster.

En route to a legit MVP bid, the Beard put up 42 points against Boston, making this his 24th game this season with a 40+ point total. He made six 3-pointers, effected a couple of steals and shot 14-of-31 from the field.

"We're finally healthy, so yeah. It feels good," Harden said. "We winning, guys know their roles, we're executing defensively, we're helping each other out, we're talking. That's all it's about."

Both Harden and Gordon combined for 43 points in the first half itself, matching the Celtics' first half total by themselves.

#2 Celtics lack aggression

The Rockets lead the league in three-pointers attempted and made.

Although their conversion rate from distance is 22nd, the Rockets are a bunch that does not hesitate from pulling the trigger from deep, averaging almost 45 three-point attempts per game.

For this one, Mike D'Antoni and his squad pulled up 51 times beyond the arc, finishing with a decent 21-51(41.2%). Harden and Gordon made 14 threes between them while Paul and Tucker added six more. In contrast, the Celtics were 1-13 from the three-point line in the first half and finished the game 8-28 (28.6%).

The Rockets showed intensity from the tip-off and raced to 65 points in the first half itself, scoring 16 of their first 31 points in the paint. The Celtics relied on isolation plays as well as jump shots to score at irregular intervals and were slow to get back in transition throughout the game, exhibiting a clear lack of commitment.

"It is a commitment to winning, and being consistent with it," Celtics center Al Horford said. "That has been our biggest problem."

#3 Boston's lack of quality of late shows

The Celtics are much better than how they are playing right now.

"Just gotta play better".

The Celtics lost for the fifth time since the All-Star break, this time against the in-rhythm Rockets.

"It could be any number of things, but we have to play better," Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. "Individually and collectively, we have to play better."

With the backup center Aron Baynes back in action after a long absence due to injury, it became obvious after the loss that the Celtics' problems were never injury-centered. Initially slated to be contenders to represent the East in the Finals this year, the Celtics have never shown any remote signs of being the team that can represent their conference at all.

"We've had some good moments. But right now, unfortunately, we're going through a really bad stretch," Horford said. "This is when our group needs to make sure that we stay together."

With just six weeks and less than 20 games remaining before the postseason kicks off, Boston sure don't look like the team that can figure it all out in time.