Mathews catches fire but Rockets fall 133-113 in Philly

A blazing opening half effort from Garrison Mathews guided the (10-28) Houston Rockets in the first half but they eventually fizzled out, losing 133-113 to the (20-16) Philadelphia 76ers and dropping their eighth consecutive game.

Over the weekend, the Rockets watched as their inactive list piled up, heading into the matchup with Philadelphia they were missing the likes of Christian Wood, Kevin Porter Jr, Alperen Sengun, Armoni Brooks, and DeJon Jarreau.

In turn, they were able to welcome back Garrison Mathews whose presence was felt early as he poured in 17 points on 4-6 shooting from the field - also knocking down 3 shots from beyond the arc in his first bit of action since Dec. 23 after…