The Houston Rockets didn’t exactly play well, but they came away with a win anyway, riding Kevin Durant and Alperen Sengun to 117-113 overtime win over the Orlando Magic. The end of regulation was pure madness, as Durant appeared like he won it, then after a huge Houston mistake, Sengun tied the game as regulation came to a close. Just check this sequence:
The Rockets then went on to take care of business in overtime,
with Durant finishing with 35 points on 13-for-24 shooting, to go along with 5 rebounds, 6 assists, and a block. Sengun also finished with 30, thought he was an inefficient 11-for-31 from the field, doing a lot of damage at the line. He also had 12 rebounds, 8 assists and 2 blocks.
Houston’s depth is being challenged, as they are now down four key members of last year’s squad if you count what went out in the KD trade plus the injuries to Fred VanVleet and now Tari Eason (again). They’re also still without Dorian Finney-Smith. But they held together and pulled off the the win. How things will look against stiffer competition may be a little different until the get some pieces back.
The Rockets did, however, get 16 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 assists on 6-for-11 shooting from Reed Sheppard, who continues to look ready, 10 points and 10 boards from Jabari Smith Jr. and 10 points from Aaron Holiday, who got some run with Houston’s injury issues.
The magic were led by Franz Wagner with 29 points and Desmond Bane with 26 and almost pulled off the upset, before Houston’s end-of-regulation miracle tie.
The Rockets are now off until Wednesday, when they return to action against the Cleveland Cavaliers. That one’s on the road and will be a true test of Houston’s depth.
