On the same night that James Harden and Kevin Porter Jr. were back in Houston, a different pair of the Rockets’ young core led them to victory.

Tari Eason and Amen Thompson each tallied 18 points off the bench to lead the Rockets to a 111-103 victory over the LA Clippers.

Houston trailed by as many as 11 points but stormed back to take the lead in the second quarter and never looked back.

Los Angeles cut the lead down to four late in the fourth quarter but two clutch scores by Alperen Sengun sandwiched between a huge block helped Houston prevail.

Those huge buckets from Sengun were part of a 13 point, 11 rebound, and six assists night from the Turkish big man.

Jalen Green led the Rockets in scoring with 21 points despite shooting just 7-21 from the field and 5-14 from deep.

Once again, Dillion Brooks joined the Rockets young duo in double figures as he tallied 15 points on 5-9 shooting.

However, it’s been Houston’s strong bench duo that has propelled them on this recent hot stretch.

Eason has now scored double figures in five straight games while Thompson has done so in three of the last four.

The Rockets have now won their last three games after taking down the Pistons, Wizards, and now the Clippers.

Although it’s still very early, the Rockets sit at 8-4 through their first twelve games. After the struggles through the years, that is a sight for Houston fans.

It’s also way too for the standings to have any weight to them but the Rockets are now fifth in the Western Conference.

Houston will play their first game of the Emirates NBA Cup on Friday when they take on the Clippers once again.

This season’s NBA Cup could allow the young Rockets team to get a taste of what playing meaningful basketball is like.