Houston Rockets are half a game out of Play-In Tournament position amid 9-game win streak

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Jalen Green missed out on back-to-back Western Conference Player of the Week awards, but he kept his hot performances going on Monday, scoring 27 points against the Portland Trail Blazers for the Houston Rockets' ninth straight win.

The video above is the ABC13 Houston's 24/7 Streaming Channel.

Unsung center Jock Landale, playing in place of Alperen Sengun, added 17 points.

The win most crucially shaved the playoff-starved ball club down to just a half-game behind the 10th-place Golden State Warriors, who hold the final Play-In Tournament spot, as of Monday.

With 11 games left in the season, Houston (36-35) could be tied with Golden State by the end of Tuesday night if the Warriors fall to Miami.

Rockets reportedly nearly parted with Green

Green's ascension as the go-to Rocket during this run had a sacrifice from another emerging young talent, Alperen Sengun, who went down with an injury on March 10 and has been missing in action since.

With Sengun out of commission, Houston has been able to play uptempo to the former No. 2 pick's advantage.

A co-existence question has come up. For example, Green hadn't scored 40 points until this streak without Sengun in the lineup.

So, imagine the shock that Houston wouldn't have had Green leading the team down the stretch. On Monday, the Athletic's NBA insider, Shams Charania, reported the Rockets offered Green and multiple first-round picks to the Brooklyn Nets for veteran swingman Mikal Bridges at the trade deadline.

Brooklyn declined the proposed swap, Charania said.

Neither ABC13 Sports nor ESPN have independently confirmed Charania's report. Still, Green and Sengun will enter the final year of their rookie deals after this season, so the Rockets must agree on whether one or both would get a contract extension.