By: Jay Yeomans

Published: October 9, 2018

Jimmer Fredette delivered a massive performance, but it was far from enough to keep the game competitive as the Houston Rockets crushed the Shanghai Sharks on Tuesday night, 128-86.

Fredette carried the Sharks on the offensive end with a game-high 41 points on 16-for-40 shooting from the field, including 4-for-11 from 3-point range and a perfect 5-for-5 from the foul line. The former BYU star also just missed out on a double-double, as he collected nine rebounds to go along with three assists and a pair of steals in 48 minutes of work.

After an icy cold shooting start, Fredette really got things going in the second quarter, scoring 14 points on 6-for-11 shooting from the field (2-for-3 from distance). He followed that up with a strong second half where he managed 25 points on a mix of threes, runners, mid-range jumpers and free throws.

Jeremiah Jensen shared video of Jimmer’s impressive scoring display on his Twitter page.

James Harden paced the Rockets in the easy win, totaling 37 points on 13-for-18 shooting from the floor, including a blistering 9-for-14 shooting from beyond the arc on a night where the Rockets connected on 28 of 66 attempts from 3-point land.

Harden had plenty of help as four other Houston players scored a least 15 points, led by PJ Tucker who registered 22 points on the strength of 6-for-11 shooting from distance. Gary Clark added 16 points off the bench, including four triples of his own while Gerald Green and James Ennis chipped in with 15 points each.

Chris Paul also had a nice showing in limited action, recording nine points and nine assists in 20 minutes on the floor.

Luis Scola had a solid night for the Sharks against his former team, managing 18 points on 8-for-13 shooting from the floor while securing a game-high 12 rebounds and handing out three assists in 40 minutes. Shanghai also got a double-figure scoring effort from Zhang Zhaoxu who finished the night with 10 points and five rebounds.

While the outcome was far from ideal (or unexpected), for the Fredette and the Sharks, the former NCAA national player of the year clearly showed that he has what it takes to score against the best competition in the world. And while that might not mean much at this point in the season, it may open up some NBA doors for him once the Chinese League season comes to an end.

Fredette and the Sharks will head back to China where they will start their newly expanded 46-game CBA schedule on October 21.