Bench Bright Spot in Game 1 Loss: Smith, Adams Shine for Rockets

On a night when little went right for the Houston Rockets, their bench brought a rare dose of energy and impact.

Despite a 95-85 loss to the Golden State Warriors in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series at Toyota Center, the trio of Jabari Smith Jr., Steven Adams, and Tari Eason gave Houston quality minutes — particularly Smith and Adams, who stood out with their production and presence.

Jabari Smith finished with 11 points on perfect shooting (3-for-3 from the field, 1-for-1 from deep) and added six rebounds. Only Alperen Şengün outscored him among Rockets players. Smith checked in late in the first quarter with the Rockets up 19-12 and wasted no time making an impact — grabbing a board on one end, then draining a smooth fadeaway jumper on the other.

“I always try to come in and bring some energy, crashing the glass,” Smith said. “I was trying to build off what the starters started really.”

Steven Adams, meanwhile, was the only Rocket to post a positive plus-minus (plus-4). The veteran center pulled down 12 rebounds — five on the offensive end — and chipped in six points in just under 20 minutes. His interior presence was a driving force behind Houston’s 52-36 advantage on the glass, even if it didn’t translate on the scoreboard due to cold shooting (39.1% from the field, 6-for-29 from three).

“He was big,” head coach Ime Udoka said of Adams. “We dominated the glass. We dominated in some areas, but we had a poor offensive showing. He did what he does — gave us extra possessions. We just missed wide-open threes and easy looks off second-chance chances.”

Udoka has managed Adams’ minutes carefully all season, rarely playing him over 20 minutes, but hinted that could change with rest days built into the schedule.

“You want to use him,” Udoka said. “With these days in between games, we’re planning on keeping him in that 20-to-25 minute range moving forward.”

Eason contributed six points in 21 minutes, quietly giving Udoka solid minutes as well.

Smith saw just 25 minutes of action — below his season average of 30 — but Udoka isn’t jumping to conclusions based on one game.

“You’re not going to overreact to one game,” Udoka said, though he did note that Şengün was the lone bright spot among the starters. “But if guys play better, you’ve got to consider it.”

Houston also deployed their much-discussed “double big” — or even “jumbo” — lineup, with Smith, Adams, and Şengün all on the floor at once. Surprisingly, Udoka used the trio even when Stephen Curry, who scorched the Rockets for 31 points, was on the court.

“Being in there with Steven and Alpi, it just opens up so much,” Smith said. “We can crash the glass, and inside, they draw so much attention. Defensively we can play zone and give different looks. I love it. I think it’s something we’ll keep using.”