Toronto Raptors vs. Houston Rockets: Postgame Grades and Analysis for Houston

Jeremy Lin scored 31 points, Dwight Howard had 18 points and 24 rebounds, and the Houston Rockets topped the Toronto Raptors 110-104 in a double-overtime marathon on Monday night.

The Rockets blew a 17-point lead in regulation, and in overtime, Rudy Gay (who led the Raptors with 29 points off 11-of-37 shooting) hit a game-tying three-pointer with 0.9 seconds left to force another extra period.

Houston was battling nagging injuries and illnesses in this contest, but it fought through them to come away with what could represent a character-building win.

The Rockets held Toronto to 33 percent shooting, but this game never would have went into overtime had Houston made its free throws. Kevin McHale's ballclub shot a paltry 29-of-47 from the charity stripe, and Howard was not the only culprit.

The Rockets improved to 5-3 with the victory, and the Raptors fell to 3-5.

Point Guard: Patrick Beverley

This was a pretty miserable night for Patrick Beverley.

The floor general went 0-of-5 from the floor (0-of-4 from deep), picked up four fouls and turned the ball over three times in 24 minutes of action. He didn't tally a single assist, either.

I would say that maybe he returned too quickly from his abdominal injury, but he had 19 points off 6-of-13 shooting on Saturday night, so that is no excuse.

What saves him from an F, you ask? An enormous offensive rebound in the second overtime that also fouled Kyle Lowry out of the game.

Grade: D-

Shooting Guard: James Harden

James Harden was ill and playing on two bad feet, so he simply could not play his usual game on Monday night.

However, that didn't stop the 2-guard from tallying 26 points and 10 assists while completing a key four-point play toward the end of the third quarter and making some big plays down the stretch.

It was clear that Harden was laboring, as he just did not attack the rim like we are used to, but he willed his way to the charity stripe late in the contest. He also buried a big three in the second overtime.

Harden demonstrated some fine defense, too, playing a significant part in holding Rudy Gay and DeMar DeRozan to a combined 17-of-62 clip. He added a couple of steals, as well, including a beautiful theft of Amir Johnson in the post.

Harden shot 7-of-19 from the field (3-of-9 from three) and 9-of-11 from the free-throw line in 48 minutes. He also turned the ball over six times, but he gets a pass due to his physical condition.

Grade: B

Small Forward: Chandler Parsons

Despite playing with a stiff back, Chandler Parsons was solid against Toronto.

He wasn't terribly efficient, shooting 7-of-16 from the floor and 1-of-5 from long distance, but his overall stat line was impressive. The forward posted 18 points, five rebounds and five assists while playing admirable defense on the quicker Raptors wings.

Parsons also committed only two turnovers and ended up fouling out in 50 minutes of action.

It would have been nice if he had made a couple more of the good looks he had from three, but this was a decent all-around performance from the Florida product regardless, especially considering that he was the only Rocket who didn't miss a free throw (3-of-3 from the stripe).

Grade: B

Power Forward: Dwight Howard

Dwight Howard was absolutely dominant in the first half, posting 17 points and 11 rebounds, finishing above the rim and intimidating defensively, but he absolutely disappeared offensively for the rest of the night.

He went scoreless in the second half, missing the only shot he attempted and misfiring on all four free throws he took in the fourth quarter.

Dwight would then score one point off of a free throw in overtime.

This type of game gives Howard's doubters more ammunition for their "Dwight isn't a franchise player" argument. Sometimes, he is a liability offensively, as he still doesn't possess much of a low-post arsenal and just can't hit his foul shots on a regular basis (he went 4-of-12 in this one).

On the other side of the coin, you have to look at Howard's presence defensively. He served as a stout deterrent at the rim, and his five blocks are concrete evidence of that.

Dwight really is an odd star. That's for sure.

Although his lackluster performance down the stretch hurts his overall grade, it's hard to ignore 18 points, 24 boards and those five swats.

Grade: A-

Center: Omer Asik

Omer Asik saw 19 scattered minutes in this affair, most of them coming without Howard on the floor.

He wasn't all that productive in the time he saw, registering four points and two rebounds and never really making an extraordinary impact defensively.

For someone who is mainly asked to rebound and defend, Asik didn't really leave his necessary fingerprints on this contest.

At the very least, he didn't turn the ball over at all.

Grade: B-

Sixth Man: Jeremy Lin

Jeremy Lin got off to somewhat of a slow start, going 1-of-5 in the first half and committing some careless turnovers (he ended up with five). However, he would proceed to explode in the third quarter and beyond.

Lin scored 10 points in that third period, representing the only reliable source of offense for the Rockets over those 12 minutes. He got to the basket, drew fouls, knocked down a three and clearly wanted the ball in his hands throughout. He had the hot hand, and he knew it.

Jeremy's strong play carried over into the fourth, with the guard continuing to attack by finding gaps in the defense and finishing at the rim. He also drained another huge three to help squelch a Toronto run at that time.

He then hit a gigantic go-ahead triple in overtime and had a spectacular drive to the basket for a layup later on in the period.

Finally, he hit a big jumper to start the scoring in the second OT and later put Houston up four with another great drive to the cup.

Plain and simply, Lin took over this game when the Rockets needed a shot in the arm, and even if the point guard did not log a single assist, his impact on the contest was monumental.

Lin finished with 31 points off 10-of-15 shooting. He also went 8-of-9 from the charity stripe and grabbed five rebounds.

Grade: A+

Bench

You really have to appreciate the effort both Omri Casspi and Terrence Jones came with in this contest.

Casspi put together a fine stat line, recording five points, six rebounds and four assists in 26 minutes. He was incredibly aggressive, running the floor very well and doing a fine job of getting to the rim. Unfortunately, he only shot 3-of-6 from the free-throw line, and those misses came back to bite Houston. Still, Casspi led all players with a plus-16.

Jones was a great spark off the bench, tallying seven points (including the go-ahead bucket in the second extra period) and 10 boards (three offensive). He fought like an animal on the glass, sometimes fighting off multiple Raptors players to grab rebounds. Not only that, but the second-year forward was also a presence defensively, blocking four shots in 32 minutes of action.

I really, really like Jones' game. I think he is either going to become an integral part of this rotation or serve as trade bait midway through the season.

And in case you were wondering, Francisco Garcia sat this one out with an illness.

Grade: A