Cam Whitmore's 'Aggression' Nearly Led Rockets to Improbable Comeback vs. Nets

The Houston Rockets sustained a disappointing defeat Saturday night in a 106-104 loss to the Brooklyn Nets. The Rockets trailed the Nets by 28 points midway through the second quarter but nearly completed an improbable comeback led by Cam Whitmore.

Whitmore came off the bench to lead the Rockets in scoring with 19 points on 6 of 16 shooting and nine rebounds. He scored a dozen during Houston's near comeback victory in the fourth quarter. His play during the final period showcased how the rookie forward has established himself as a reliable player within coach Ime Udoka's rotation. 

"Aggression, he made a few mistakes defensively, but all of our guys did," Udoka said. "In the first half, guys were not prepared to guard certain guys. But Cam was aggressive. Even when guys tried to do it one-on-one at the time, our team got caught up in that a little bit in the second half.

"When driving to the basket and there is a crowd around you, you have to learn how to find guys. He was getting caught up in that as well, which a lot of young guys do. But he was very aggressive — did a great job."