The Houston Rockets were without Alperen Sengun, but showed that they can win without him by utilizing their depth, and the Rockets downed the Cleveland Cavaliers for the second time this year the fourth time in the last two years 117-100.
The Rockets were led by Kevin Durant, who was the main focus of the offense with Sengun out. KD went off for 30 points, 4 rebounds and 7 assists on 11-for-17 shooting in just 29 minutes of action. Durant was the clear number one with Sengun on the shelf, and he also finished as a plus-24.
The Rockets also got support from Jabari Smith, who finished with 15 points and 7 boards along with a steal and a block. Smith was 6-for-9 from the field and 3-for-5 from deep. He’s averaging 17.4 points per game over his last five contests and is shooting 45 percent from deep over that same stretch. Smith has struggled one-on-one defense at times this season, but is slowly turning into a highly effective offensive role player. He’s now hitting 38.2 percent of his triples for the year.
The Rockets also got 18 points off of the bench from Reed Sheppard. He also pitched in 8 assists, 3 boards and 5 big steals. He was also 4-for-10 from three in 32 minutes of action. He also finished at plus-25, the second-best on the Rockets behind Steven Adams, who was plus-26. Adams also had 9 points, 8 boards, and 2 steals.
The only other Rocket in double figures was Amen Thompson, who finished with 13 points, 9 boards, and 4 assists. Dorian Finney-Smith played just 18 minutes and finished a plus-20, as the Rockets finally have the cadre of wing defenders that they envisioned in the offseason with DFS, Tari Eason and Josh Okogie all finally healthy.
Houston’s apparent renewed focus on defense helped hold the Cavs to 43 percent shooting, and the forced 14 turnovers. The Rockets are now 19-10 on the season and will return to action on Monday, to close out 2025 with a game against the Indiana Pacers