One motto most NBA reserve players who are not in the game rotation tell themselves daily throughout the season is to “Stay Ready.”

They preach that to themselves repeatedly because they genuinely do not know when their name or number will be called to enter the game.

Houston Rockets reserve center Bruno Fernando heard his name sparingly by head coach Stephen Silas after being traded from the Boston Celtics to the Houston Rockets in mid-February. On Friday against the Dallas Mavericks, Fernando heard his name loud and clear when coach Silas called for him to enter the game in the third quarter.

The Rockets were shorthanded in the frontcourt, with Christian Wood (illness) and Jae’Sean Tate (ankle) unavailable. That left only two reserves on the bench, with Alperen Sengun and KJ Martin getting most of the starter minutes.

When it seemed as if the game had gotten away from the Rockets, coach Silas pulled the starters and went with an all-reserve lineup that included Fernando. He made the most of his opportunity by scoring a career-high 16 points and a season-best 11 rebounds in 23 minutes of play.

Fernando was asked if he knew he would get playing minutes against the Dallas Mavericks.

As a basketball player, I always expect to play. I always come into the situation expecting to play. We have seen many times where guys are at the end of the bench, and their name is called out of nowhere. I just try and stay professional about it and control what I can control, and when my name is called, I try to take full advantage of the opportunity.

It was one of those nights where I continued to stay locked in mentally, emotionally, and physically and come in and try to do what I can to help the team. I felt like it had been such a long time since I have played basketball and enjoyed the game. Tonight was a night I truly enjoyed.

On Sunday, Houston (17-50) will travel to New Orleans (27-40) to face the Pelicans. Center Christian Wood and forward Jae’Sean Tate have been medically cleared to play.