Emirates NBA Cup play officially began for the Houston Rockets on Friday night as they look to wiggle their way through West Group A.

Houston is tasked with finishing first amongst the Portland Trailblazers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Sacramento Kings, and LA Clippers.

On Friday night, the Rockets took on the Clippers for the second straight game, only this one meant a little more.

Debuting their new all-red NBA Cup court, the Rockets performed exceptionally well to open in-season tournament play.

The Rockets used a season-high 28 points from Jabari Smith Jr to glide past the Clippers 125-104.

Smith Jr knocked off his early season shooting woes by knocking down five three-pointers in eight attempts as part of an 11-17 shooting night.

Surprisingly, Jalen Green was the only Rocket who didn’t contribute ten or more points as he tallied eight.

Dillion Brooks continued his strong start to the season with 17 points with five three-pointers on nine attempts.

His fellow top free agent signing Fred VanVleet had an all-around solid game dopping 18 points with ten assists to go along with it.

It’s hard to get overlooked when you drop a triple-double but Alperen Sengun may have had one of the more quiet triple-doubles you will ever see. Sengun scored 16 points with 10 assists and 10 rebounds.

The bench duo of Tari Eason and Amen Thompson had yet another strong game as Eason scored 17 and Thompson scored 12 off the bench.

Houston now sits at 9-4 on the season after its now four-game winning streak.

The Rockets will take on the Bulls on Sunday in their next contest.

The next NBA Cup game for the Rockets will take place on Friday, November 22nd when they host the Portland Trailblazers.