Rockets Set Bizarre NBA Record in Collapse

Kobe Bryant once called Dwight Howard “soft.” Can we accurately apply that pejorative to all of Howard’s Houston Rockets teammates now, too?

The Rockets played like their name in the first half of Thursday night’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. They played like launch-pad duds in the second half.

The team put up 73 on their Western Conference rivals in the first half. They followed this up with just 19 points in the second half. Terrence Jones led the Rockets in second-half scoring with just six points. The 10 points scored in the third quarter and nine points scored in the fourth quarter represent an historic offensive collapse for an NBA team. The 54-point disparity between the first and second half set an NBA record. It was just the fourth time in the shot-clock era, Elias Sports Bureau points out, that a team had scored ten or fewer points in consecutive quarters.

The Rockets ineptitude transformed their 73-59 halftime lead into a 104-92 loss. The team’s twitter account made light of the collapse: “First half = Godfather 1 & 2. Second half = Godfather 3.”

First half = Godfather 1 & 2. Second half = Godfather 3.

— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) January 17, 2014