NBA
Rockets’ Jalen Green ties career-high with 42 points in win over Grizzlies
Joe Lyons is a sports writer and basketball expert for Basketball Insiders. Joe has a keen eye for the betting markets within the NBA and a great passion for the game of basketball. also been published by Nottingham Forest FC, working with the academy and senior teams to produce content on matchdays. He formerly covered the Premier League and EFL as an on-site reporter during the 2020/21 season for Prost International. He is an expert in a range of other sports including soccer, horse racing darts and American football. Joe specialises in long form SEO content alongside news, tips and betting.
All posts by Joe LyonsUpdated11 hours ago on January 14, 2025
Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green tied his career-high with 42 points in Monday’s win over the Memphis Grizzlies.
Green joined franchise legend Hakeem Olajuwon as the only players in Rockets history to score at least 40 points on 70% shooting or better from the floor before the age of 23.
The youngster, who turns 23 next month, tallied 42 points, three rebounds and four assists and missed just five of his 18 field goal attempts alongside a perfect 11/11 from the foul line.
In 38 appearances this season, Green is averaging 21 points a night to go with 4.4 rebonds, 2.6 assists and one steal as the Rockets occupy the two seed in the Western Conference.
Houston are 7-0 this season when Green scores 30 or more and Monday’s stellar performance was arguably his best showing in the NBA to date as he continues to blossom in his fourth year.
WATCH: Jalen Green ties career-high 42 points vs Grizzlies
Jalen Green scores 42 points on 72.2 FG% in the @HoustonRockets W!
He joins Hakeem Olajuwon as the only players in Rockets history to total 40+ PTS on at least 70 FG% in a game before turning 23 🤯 pic.twitter.com/F8PwLys5Sg
— NBA (@NBA) January 14, 2025
Rockets in line for first playoff appearance since 2019-20 season
Ime Udoka’s side recorded their fourth consecutive win and a first playoff showing since the 2019-20 campaign is certainly on the cards, sitting five games clear of the LA Clippers in sixth who currently hold the final guaranteed postseason place.
The Texan outfit are a young, hungry unit who boast some of the league’s brightest young talents in the form of Green and big man Alperen Sengun as well as veteran leadership from 2019 NBA champion Fred VanVleet.
Udoka carries valuable experience from his nine years as an assistant coach with the San Antonio Spurs (2012-19), Philadelphia 76ers (2019-20) and Brooklyn Nets (2020-21), winning a ring in 2014 before becoming the head coach of the Boston Celtics and winning the Eastern Conference in 2022.
The likes of Green and Sengun are in good hands, as evidenced by Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown’s growth and progression as star players under Udoka’s wing in Boston and the future looks promising.
As per the best online sportsbooks, the Rockets are as short as -5000 to make the playoffs this season so it would be a great disappointment if they were to somehow miss out.
