Rockets roll past Grizzlies

Houston closed the regular season on April 12 with a 132-101 win over Memphis and locked in the Western Conference’s No. 5 seed. (nba.com) The Rockets finished 52-30 and will open the first round against the No. 4 Los Angeles Lakers, according to the league recap and standings. Memphis finished 25-57 after its eighth straight loss. (nba.com) (foxsports.com) Houston did it with several regulars out. The National Basketball Association recap listed Kevin Durant, Amen Thompson, Alperen Sengun and Jabari Smith Jr. as unavailable, with Fred VanVleet and Steven Adams also inactive in the box score. (nba.com 1) (nba.com 2) Clint Capela led Houston with a season-high 23 points and 13 rebounds in 22 minutes, while Tari Eason scored 20 and Reed Sheppard added 19. Sheppard also became the only Rocket to appear in all 82 games this season. (nba.com 1) (nba.com 2) The game turned early and never tightened. Houston led 32-26 after one quarter, stretched the margin to 66-45 by halftime and won every quarter on the way to a 31-point finish. (espn.com) The result fit Houston’s place in the bracket rather than changing it. The Rockets had already secured fifth in the West, leaving Sunday’s finale as a tune-up before a road series against the Lakers. (nba.com) (foxsports.com) For Memphis, the finale showed how thin the roster had become by the season’s end. The Grizzlies dressed eight players, and the box score listed Ja Morant, Brandon Clarke, Santi Aldama, Zach Edey and five other players as inactive. (nba.com 1) (nba.com 2) Dariq Whitehead scored a career-high 26 points for Memphis, and Rayan Rupert added 21 points and 12 rebounds. Toby Okani and Whitehead were in the starting lineup after both signed 10-day contracts on April 3, according to the league recap. (nba.com) (nba.com) Houston also completed a 4-0 season sweep of Memphis, its first sweep of the Grizzlies since the 2009-10 season. By the end, the Rockets had 64 rebounds to Memphis’s 37 and 23 assists on 48 made field goals. (nba.com) (nba.com) The regular season is over for both teams now. Houston moves on to Los Angeles with a 52-win finish, and Memphis heads into the offseason after a 57-loss year. (nba.com) (foxsports.com)