THE Rockets paid the price for going full-on in their final tuneup.
Houston is hoping Eric Gordon will be out for only a while, after the guard hurt his ankle in a scrimmage against the Boston Celtics on Tuesday (Wednesday, Manila time).
Harden, no fan of load management, came out with guns blazing along with the Rockets, while the Celtics held out their starters.
Coach Mike D’Antoni says X-rays were negative, but the Rockets look to know more about the injury by Wednesday.
Gordon leaped to make a pass and rolled his left ankle as he landed on Vincent Poirer’s foot late in the second period.
Harden scored 35 as the Rockets notched a 137-112 win in the tuneup, but could be without Gordon when they take on the Dallas Mavericks in their first official game of the NBA restart.
Kemba Walker, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Gordon Hayward and Daniel Theis sat out, along with Enes Kanter and Marcus Smart as a full-strength Boston faces the league-leading Milwauke Bucks on Friday in the NBA seeding games.
Carsen Edwards had 19 points for the Celtics in the scrimmage.
Spin fans unite at Spin Viber Community! Join the growing community now! Complete the experience by subscribing in the Spin Chatbot and download the Spin Game Sticker Pack.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph