On Monday evening, the Houston Rockets got back into the win column with a comfortable home win over the Utah Jazz. There was a scary moment when Jazz forward Vince Williams Jr. was injured after colliding with Rockets wing Terry Eason.
It has since been revealed that the injury was likely to be Williams' ACL, and many fans were doubtful of Eason's intentions in this game.
After the game, Eason took the opportunity to apologize to Williams for the incident.
According to Sarah Todd of the Desert News, Eason said, "I've known Vince for a long time and he's a really good guy, hard-working guy." "It was just respect. I have a lot of respect for him, and I know it's his contract year... I didn't intend to do anything. My intention is always just to work hard. So I went to yell and just go check on him. Obviously nothing helps, but just tell him I'm sorry. You know, nobody's trying to hurt anybody."
Meanwhile, Jazz coach Will Hardy had a strong reaction to the play.
"That's not basketball," Hardy said.
Overall, it was a strong performance for the Rockets on Monday, which was much needed after their recent loss against the New York Knicks on Saturday evening at Madison Square Garden. In that game, the Rockets led by 18 points in the second half, but could only put 15 points on the board in a poor fourth quarter and ultimately succumbed to Jalen Brunson's jumpers.
The loss rekindled concerns about the Rockets' crunch time offense and the team's lack of a true point guard, although Fred VanVleet has not yet been officially ruled out for the remainder of the season as he continues to battle his ACL injury.
The Rockets next take the court against the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday evening.
