The Toronto Raptors suffered one of their worst loses of the season to Fred VanVleet and the Houston Rockets.
Toronto came out flat and never put up a fight this one, getting blown out 135-106.
The Rockets led by double figures for most of the game and were up by 30 after three. The Rockets starters sat out the entire fourth.
Rookie Cam Whitmore scored a season-high 25 and Alperen Sengun had 24 points, 13 rebounds and 8 assists in just three quarters.
Fred VanVleet had a quiet night of 10 point and 6 assists, but that is all he needed to help the Rockets get the victory over his former team.
The Raptors saw Jakob Poeltl and Immanuel Quickley return to the starting lineup in this one.
Scottie Barnes led all Raptors players with 28 points and Immanuel Quickley added 25 for Toronto.
The Raptors did make things a little interesting when they went on a 13-4 run to get within 84-69 with about five minutes left in the third quarter. But then Houston scored the next 16 points to put this game away, handing the Raptors their sixth loss in seven games.
The Rockets saw a lot of success in the paint scoring 84 points. This was the most points in the paint the Raptors have allowed all season.
Toronto also saw their streak of consecutive games with 25 or more assists come to an end at 29. The Raptors only finished with 17 assists.
The Rockets were simply too much for Toronto to handle. After two promising performances, the Raptors had no fight in Houston.
The Raptors are now 1-2 on their road trip.
Next on tap
It is not going to get any easier for the Raptors. They travel to Oklahoma City to take on the Thunder on Feb. 4 for the first time this season.
The Thunder are an example of a team that has benefited from a rebuild. OKC is ahead of schedule though, as they are currently the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.
The Raptors will have their hands full in this matchup.
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