Reaction: Jabari Smith Jr. continues 20-10 binge as Rockets shock Celtics

The recent surge by rookie forward Jabari Smith Jr. is only continuing to grow for the young Houston Rockets.

Smith had 24 points and 12 rebounds — his third consecutive game with 20 or more points and 10-plus rebounds — as the Rockets pulled a massive upset over one of the NBA’s best teams with Monday’s 111-109 victory (box score) over the visiting Boston Celtics.

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“I’m just letting it go,” Smith told AT&T SportsNet’s Vanessa Richardson of his improvements as a shooter. “I’m trusting my work. I’ve been playing basketball since I was born. I’m trusting my work, trusting what got me here, and just letting it fly.”

Boston fell to 47-22 with the shocking loss, while Houston improved to 16-52. The win didn’t immediately harm the Rockets in the 2023 draft race, either, since fellow bottom-feeder Detroit (16-53) had an upset of its own with an earlier victory over Indiana.

Smith connected on 9-of-11 shots (81.8%) against the Celtics, including 5-of-6 from 3-point range (83.3%). Jalen Green scored a team-high 28 points for Houston, while starting point guard Kevin Porter Jr. dished out 13 assists while turning it over only once.

KJ Martin added 20 points and 8 rebounds and was a force in transition, making 8-of-13 shots (61.5%) as he attacked the rim.

Jaylen Brown led the Celtics with 43 points on 16-of-25 shooting (64.0%), including 4-of-10 on 3-pointers (40.0%). Fellow All-Star Jayson Tatum had 22 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists, though he shot just 8-of-22 from the field (36.4%), 2-of-10 on 3-pointers (20.0%), and his attempt at a tying shot in the final seconds rolled off.

Scroll on for highlights, analysis and postgame interviews. Next up is Houston’s third game of this six-game homestand on Wednesday versus the Los Angeles Lakers. Tipoff is at 7:00 p.m. Central.