After their first two-game losing streak of the season, where the Houston Rockets suffered losses to the Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns, the Rockets have quickly righted the ship, and after a suprisingly hard fought win over the Utah Jazz, the Rockets have now won three straight and are 10-3 on the season.
Alperen Sengun finished with the second-most points in a game in his career, carrying the Rockets with 43 points. The Rockets relinquished a 12-point lead early in the third quarter as the 1-11
Jazz actually took the lead at one point. The Rockets and Jazz traded blows for most of the third quarter, leading into the fourth.
In the fourth quarter, Sengun continued his dominance, controlling the game. Of course, his play had a lot to do with the Rockets’ win, but another area that the Rockets have excelled at all season also played a big part. The Rockets entered the game as the league leaders in fourth-quarter three-point shooting.
Rockets three-point shooting has helped them put away games in the fourth quarter
The Rockets have been one of the best three-point shooting teams all season, coming into Friday’s game ranked seventh overall from downtown at 37.4 percent. Some games are over early when one team dominates the other, and the result is never in doubt, but a lot of games come down to the last few minutes and become back-and-forth contests.
That is why the Rockets’ league-leading fourth-quarter three-point shooting is so important. Several times this season, the Rockets have made multiple shots from downtown in a row in the final period, which completely shifts the momentum in a close game.
The Rockets have seen their fourth-quarter three-point shooting improve over the last three seasons. In the 2024-25 season, the Rockets were bottom five in this category; last season, they improved to tenth, and this season, they are the best in the league.
That happened again in Friday’s win, as Bogdan Bogdanović and Kevin Durant each hit a huge three-pointer, with the Jazz cutting the lead to one late in the fourth quarter. The Rockets’ fourth-quarter shooting matters in close regular-season games, but especially in high-pressure playoff games, and could be the difference between another first-round exit and the Rockets’ first deep playoff run since the 2017-18 season.
