JOSH CHRISTOPHER

Dejounte Murray paid immediate dividends for Atlanta at both ends of the court.

Chancellor Johnson checking in for NBA Tip-Off week! As the Astros continue to chase their quest for another World Series title it can be easy to forget their neighbors down the street, the Houston Rockets. They’ll begin their season on Wednesday.

From the outside looking in, it’s hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel for a Houston Rockets team that finished with the NBA’s worst record for the past two seasons.

The Houston Rockets went 20-62 to finish with the NBA's worst record for the second straight season.

Anthony Edwards scored 33 points and Karl-Anthony Towns added 28 as the Minnesota Timberwolves built a huge lead and held on for a 139-132 win over the Houston Rockets.

Davion Mitchell, Damian Jones and Trey Lyles scored 24 points each, and the Sacramento Kings outlasted the Houston Rockets for a 121-118 win.

Dejounte Murray scored a career-high 33 points and the San Antonio Spurs held on for a 123-120 win over the Houston Rockets to inch closer to the final play-in spot in the Western Conference.

Alperen Sengun scored 27 points off the bench, Jalen Green had 25 points and the Houston Rockets defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 115-98 to complete a back-to-back sweep.

Jalen Green had 23 points including five 3-pointers and the Houston Rockets built a big early lead before coasting to a 125-106 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.

Jonas Valanciunas had 32 points and 10 rebounds, and the New Orleans Pelicans emphatically snapped a four-game skid with a 130-105 victory over the Houston Rockets.

Luka Doncic scored 30 points, Dwight Powell tied a career high with 26 and the Dallas Mavericks built a big lead and coasted to 113-100 victory over the Houston Rockets.

Victor Oladipo scored 11 points in in his first game in nearly a year, Tyler Herro scored 21 of his 31 points in the second quarter and the Miami Heat beat the Houston Rockets 123-106.

Marcus Morris Sr. scored 27 points and Luke Kennard added 25 as the Los Angeles Clippers sped to a 17-point lead in the first half and cruised to a 142-111 victory over the Houston Rockets.

Landers Nolley II scored 20 points, and Jalen Duren had 14 points and 11 rebounds as Memphis won its fifth straight, 69-59 over No. 6 Houston.

Gary Trent Jr. scored a season-high 42 points, and the Toronto Raptors pushed their season-high winning streak to eight games with a 139-120 victory over the Houston Rockets.

Brandon Ingram scored 33 points and tied a career high with 12 assists as the New Orleans Pelicans used a big third quarter to take control of the game and get a 120-107 win over the Houston Rockets.

Keldon Johnson had 28 points and the San Antonio Spurs punctuated Zach Collins’ return from a nearly two-year absence with a 131-106 victory over the Houston Rockets on Friday night.

Stephen Curry scored 21 of his 40 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Golden State Warriors to a 122-108 win over the Houston Rockets Monday night.

Anfernee Simons scored 27 points, CJ McCollum had 26 and the Portland Trail Blazers handed Houston its franchise-record 10th straight home loss, beating the Rockets 125-110.

Joel Embiid had 31 points and eight rebounds to lead the Philadelphia 76ers over the Houston Rockets 111-91 for their seventh straight win.

Karl-Anthony Towns scored a season-high 40 points, D’Angelo Russell added 22 points and 10 assists and the Minnesota Timberwolves won their fourth straight, beating the Houston Rockets 141-123.

Jimmy Butler scored a season-high 37 points and the short-handed Miami Heat built a big lead early and held on for a 120-110 win over the Houston Rockets.

LeBron James and Russell Westbrook both had triple-doubles as the Los Angeles Lakers snapped a season-high,five-game skid with a 132-123 win over the Houston Rockets.

DeMar DeRozan scored 26 points and the Chicago Bulls beat the Houston Rockets 133-118.

Christian Wood led a balanced attack with 21 points and eight rebounds as the Houston Rockets defeated the Detroit Pistons 116-107, handing the Pistons their 14th straight loss.

Darius Garland scored 21 points and Isaac Okoro added 20 as the Cleveland Cavaliers won their fifth straight game, a 124-89 rout of the Houston Rockets.

The Houston Rockets won seven straight games after dropping 15 in a row, the first team in NBA history to have the lengthy slide and win streak in one season.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 41 points and 17 rebounds, and the Milwaukee Bucks snapped the Houston Rockets’ seven-game winning streak with a 123-114 victory.

Eric Gordon scored 21 points before being ejected in the fourth quarter and Garrison Mathews added 19 as the Houston Rockets extended their winning streak to seven games with a 114-104 victory over the shorthanded Brooklyn Nets.

Jordan Poole scored 15 of his 25 points in the first quarter and the Golden State Warriors beat the Houston Rockets 120-107 on Sunday night.

Christian Wood had 31 points and 14 rebounds and Houston beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 124-91 on Friday night in the Rockets’ home opener.

The Houston Rockets were a franchise-worst 17-55 last season in the wake of the James Harden trade.

Cam Thomas scored 36 points and the Brooklyn Nets beat the San Antonio Spurs 104-100 on Sunday in the NBA Summer.

Tre Jones made a layup with less than a second remaining to give San Antonio the lead, then had a steal to prevent Charlotte from taking a final shot in the Spurs’ 106-105 victory over the Hornets on Thursday night in the NBA Summer League.

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25 Arizona State beat the Golden Bears 70-62 on Thursday night in the Pac-12 opener for both schools. “These guys, a number of our guys, have been in some big games the last couple years,” coach Bobby Hurley said. He was coming off a 26-point performance Monday in the team's home opener, a 60-49 victory against Nicholls State. Arizona State returned from a split of two games at the Empire Classic in Connecticut, losing 83-74 to No. The Bears are 13-6 on their home court under second-year coach Fox — six of those victories vs. Pac-12 opponents.