Throughout the 2013-14 season, the Houston Rockets have called Chandler Parsons their “glue guy.”
But in the Rockets’ 88-87 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night, the third-year forward was more than just a third option.
Parsons, who played for the Gators from 2007-11, scored a career-high 34 points on 11-of-17 shooting and sunk 10 of his 14 attempts from three-point range in 43 minutes on the court Friday, overshadowing All-Star teammates James Harden and Dwight Howard. Parsons had only four points at halftime but made his 10 threes in the second half.
His second-half performance broke numerous records, including the Rockets record of consecutive made threes and the NBA record for three-pointers made in a half.
“I was pretty much unconscious. My body went numb,” Parsons said after Friday night’s game. “I’ve never felt that feeling on a basketball court before.”
Parsons’ encore did not go as he would have hoped. He went only 1 of 6 from beyond the arc and 5 of 16 from the field for 11 points Sunday in another loss to the Grizzlies.
But his performance Friday was not an isolated outburst.
Two games prior to his record-setting game, Parsons led the Rockets in scoring with 31 points on 12-of-19 shooting as his team knocked off the Portland Trail Blazers 126-113 on Jan. 20. In the game, he also notched 10 rebounds and seven assists.
After missing three games with knee soreness, Parsons had struggled for a four-game stretch from Jan. 13-18, shooting 35.3 percent from the field and committing 11 combined turnovers in three wins and a loss. But the third-year forward’s performance Jan. 20 against the Blazers was a step in the right direction.
As the Rockets’ third most productive player behind Harden and Howard, Parsons has helped his team to a 29-17 record — currently the seventh-best record in the league — and the No. 5 spot in the Western Conference race. This season, he has averaged a career-best 17.4 points on 50.2 percent shooting, 5.7 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game as Houston’s starting small forward.
Noah dominating the glass: All Joakim Noah does is rebound, rebound, rebound.
In his past 16 games, the Chicago Bulls center has recorded double-digit rebounds, averaging 14 during that stretch.
In the Bulls’ 102-100 win against the Los Angeles Lakers on Jan. 20, Noah grabbed a season-high 21 boards and scored 17 points for the 17th of his 19 point-rebound double-doubles this year.
The following game, 6-foot-11, 232-pound Noah grabbed 18 boards in a win against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Due to illness, Noah missed the Bulls’ 95-86 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday.
Noah has started all 42 games for the Bulls this year, averaging 11.7 points per contest.
Follow Landon Watnick on Twitter @LandonWatnick
Houston Rockets’ Chandler Parsons (25) shoots a three-point shot as Memphis Grizzlies’ Tayshaun Prince watches on Jan. 24 in Houston.
