With Rockets guard Reed Sheppard sidelined for precautionary reasons, Kennedy Chandler and Adonis Arms took advantage of the increased responsibility in Monday’s summer-league thriller versus Atlanta.
With each team at the midpoint of their five-game schedule at the NBA’s 2025 summer league, the Houston Rockets fell to 0-3 with Monday’s 111-108 overtime loss (box score) versus the Atlanta Hawks (3-0).
All games of the five-game, 10-day summer league event are played at the Thomas & Mack Center and Pavilion in Las Vegas, where each of the league’s 30 teams participates. Rosters for each team are available here.
Second-year guard Reed Sheppard did not play, with the 21-year-old Kentucky product shut down for the remainder of the summer showcase for precautionary reasons (calf).
From Monday’s game, statistical lines of note included:
Adonis Arms (Rockets): 24 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds, 3 steals; 7-of-16 shooting (43.8%), 8-of-10 on free throws (80.0%)Kennedy Chandler (Rockets): 22 points, 7 assists, 3 steals; 8-of-20 shooting (40.0%), 3-of-8 on 3-pointers (37.5%)Kobe Bufkin (Hawks): 25 points, 9 turnovers, 6 rebounds, 3 assists; 8-of-15 shooting (53.3%), 4-of-8 on 3-pointersJack McVeigh (Hawks): 21 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists; 8-of-10 shooting (80.0%), 4-of-6 on 3-pointers (66.7%)
Neither Chandler nor Arms is currently on Houston’s 2025-26 roster, but it’s not implausible that a strong showing at summer league could earn one or both a look at training camp.
Arms, a 6-foot-6 wing player, went undrafted in 2022 out of Texas Tech and has played in the G League and internationally since. Meanwhile, Chandler is a Tennessee product who was drafted in the 2022 second round. A 5-foot-11 point guard, he played sparingly for the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2022-23 season and has been in the G League over the previous two seasons.
The Rockets led late in regulation after a deep 3-pointer by Arms, but an ill-advised shooting foul by Cam Matthews — with the Rockets up by three in the closing seconds — allowed Atlanta to extend the game to overtime.
For Houston, with a back-to-back complete, the Rockets won’t play again until Thursday night. Tipoff versus the Portland Trail Blazers is at 7:00 p.m. Central, and the game will be televised live on NBA TV.