Jan. 26, 2026, 1:52 p.m. CT<\/p>\n
With four wins in their last five games, the Houston Rockets<\/a> (27-16) are back on the rise in NBA power rankings for the 2025-26 season.<\/p>\n This week, NBA.com ranks<\/a> the Rockets at No. 3 in the league, up from No. 8 a week ago.<\/p>\n Only the Pistons (33-11) and Oklahoma City Thunder<\/a> (37-10) are ranked ahead of Houston, and the Rockets won at Detroit last Friday<\/a>. All-Star forward Kevin Durant dropped 32 extremely efficient points<\/a> in that victory.<\/p>\n As John Schuhmann of NBA.com explains<\/a>, Houston\u2019s sudden surge is due in large part to the quality of its wins, as well as adjusting for a relatively difficult schedule.<\/p>\n Schuhmann writes<\/a>:<\/p>\n Need a news break? Check out the all new PLAY hub with puzzles, games and more!<\/a><\/p>\n The Rockets lost in overtime in Philadelphia on Thursday, but they have wins over the Timberwolves, Spurs, and Pistons in the last 10 days. Only Detroit (14-6) has been better in games played between the 17 teams currently over .500 than Houston (15-7). …<\/p>\n Even with the win in Detroit on Friday, the Rockets have the league\u2019s biggest differential between their home record (15-3) and their road record (12-13). They\u2019ve got 10 games before the All-Star break and seven of them are at the Toyota Center, with the Spurs making a return visit on Wednesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n Additional statistical data, both from a player and team perspective, is available via the updated NBA.com rankings<\/a>.<\/p>\n By record, San Antonio and Denver (both 31-15) remain slightly ahead of the Rockets in the Western Conference standings<\/a>.<\/p>\n But Houston has a slightly superior point differential (+6.1 compared to +5.0 for the Spurs and +4.5 for the Nuggets), and the Rockets also won their most recent head-to-head meeting against both of those teams.<\/p>\n The Spurs will have an opportunity at redemption on Wednesday night.<\/p>\n