Updated March 21, 2026, 10:04 a.m. CT

HOUSTON — The Rockets entered Friday’s home matchup versus Atlanta with a 4-6 record in their last 10 games, and one clear problem was a prolonged slump by Tari Eason.

So, head coach Ime Udoka made a change to his starting lineup by removing Eason and inserting talented second-year guard Reed Sheppard. It appeared to pay immediate dividends in Houston’s 117-95 victory (box score) over the resurgent Hawks, who had an 11-game winning streak snapped.

“Obviously, Reed has taken a nice step and jump, lately,” Udoka explained. “But we wanted to have more spacers out there, some shooting, and have different guys that can handle (the basketball) and do some different things.”

“Tari is struggling, obviously, but it’s not necessarily that, as much. He’s still doing the things we want him to do defensively. But we’ll put him back in his role off the bench, let him relax a little bit, and take a look at Reed.”

In his last 19 games, Sheppard is averaging 15.9 points, 4.1 assists, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.5 steals in 30.1 minutes, all while shooting 40.9% from 3-point range.

Need a news break? Check out the all new PLAY hub with puzzles, games and more!

The Rockets are now 9-2 when Sheppard starts this season, and the latest win moved Houston (42-27) back into No. 4 in the Western Conference standings. If sustained, that would put Houston in line to hold home-court advantage in at least the first round of the 2026 playoffs.

Speaking postgame, Udoka did not commit to his latest starting lineup being permanent. However, the Rockets are clearly open to it.

“We’ll give it a great look,” Udoka said. “How many (regular season) games do we have left, 13? We’ll give it five, six, seven, eight (games), whatever, and then determine what we want to do going into the playoffs.”

In the 2025 portion of the 2025-26 season, the Rockets ranked fifth in the NBA at 120.5 points per game. But in calendar-year 2026, Houston is second-to-last (No. 29 among 30 teams) at 108.9 points per game. While that downturn is certainly not all on Eason, it is worth noting that he didn’t join the starting lineup until the final week of December.

The 117 points that Houston scored Friday, while shooting 50.6% overall and 46.7% on 3-pointers, was much closer to the 2025 formula.

“It’s just another threat outside the 3-point line,” All-Star forward Kevin Durant said of the change. He elaborated:

All the great basketball teams have multiple guys that can create for themselves and others. In our starting five, I feel like we’ve got five guys that can put the ball on the floor and make a play, or knock down the shot. So, we’ve got to utilize that.

Tonight was one of those nights where you see it. We had 33 assists, just because we’ve got multiple guys that can dribble and handle and make plays, and we’re going to need that moving forward.

Individually, key statistics included:

Kevin Durant: 25 points, 6 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks; 9-of-15 shooting (60.0%), 3-of-5 on 3-pointers (60.0%), 4-of-5 on free throws (80.0%)Jabari Smith Jr.: 23 points, 9 rebounds, 2 steals; 7-of-14 shooting (50.0%), 3-of-8 on 3-pointers (37.5%), 6-of-8 on free throws (75.0%)Alperen Sengun: 15 points, 10 assists, 9 rebounds, 6 turnovers; 7-of-11 shooting (63.6%)Reed Sheppard: 14 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 blocks; 5-of-10 shooting (50.0%), 4-of-7 on 3-pointers (57.1%)Amen Thompson: 14 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists; 5-of-10 shooting (50.0%), 4-of-4 on free throwsTari Eason: 10 points, 10 rebounds; 3-of-9 shooting (33.3%), 1-of-3 on 3-pointers (33.3%), 3-of-3 on free throwsNickeil Alexander-Walker (Hawks): 21 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds; 6-of-12 shooting (50.0%), 8-of-9 on free throws (88.9%)

For the Rockets, Dorian Finney-Smith sat out for maintenance considerations on the front end of a back-to-back. He is expected to resume his usual rotation duties during Saturday’s game versus Miami.

The Heat (38-32) held Houston to 105 points in a Feb. 28 win over the Rockets, and Miami is one of the league’s best defenses for the season as a whole. So, between the tactical challenge and the potential for tired legs, that matchup could certainly put Houston’s new-look lineup to the test.

Tipoff between the Rockets and Heat is at 7:00 p.m. Central, and the game will be televised and streamed regionally on Space City Home Network and nationally via NBA League Pass.

More: Tari Eason’s shooting slump continues as Rockets fall to No. 5 in West