{"id":596606,"date":"2026-02-11T12:15:21","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T12:15:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/596606\/"},"modified":"2026-02-11T12:15:21","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T12:15:21","slug":"durant-sengun-steer-balanced-houston-rockets-past-la-clippers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/596606\/","title":{"rendered":"Durant, \u015eeng\u00fcn steer balanced Houston Rockets past LA Clippers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Houston Rockets tightened their grip on third place in the Western Conference on Monday night, riding a balanced attack and a sharp fourth quarter to a 102-95 win over the Los Angeles Clippers at Toyota Center.<\/p>\n<p>Houston improved to 33-19 by doing what contenders do: defend, share the load and close with authority.<\/p>\n<p>Kevin Durant led with 26 points and six rebounds, hitting three from deep and going a flawless 7 for 7 at the free-throw line.<\/p>\n<p>His 8-of-22 shooting night was not about volume but timing. When the Clippers threatened, Durant slowed the game, found his spots and delivered steady offense.<\/p>\n<p>                    <a data-fancybox=\"gallery\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/426377.jpg\" data-caption=\"Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant (R) drives to the basket as Los Angeles Clippers forward Isaiah Jackson (23) defends during the fourth quarter at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, Feb. 10, 2026. (Reuters Photo)&#10;\"><br \/>\n                        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/426377.jpg\" alt=\"Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant (R) drives to the basket as Los Angeles Clippers forward Isaiah Jackson (23) defends during the fourth quarter at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, Feb. 10, 2026. (Reuters Photo)&#10;\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none';\"\/><br \/>\n                    <\/a><br \/>\n                     Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant (R) drives to the basket as Los Angeles Clippers forward Isaiah Jackson (23) defends during the fourth quarter at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, Feb. 10, 2026. (Reuters Photo)<\/p>\n<p>Alperen \u015eeng\u00fcn once again served as the engine. The Turkish big man scored 22 points on 9-of-14 shooting, adding seven rebounds and five assists in a polished all-around display. He punished switches in the post, faced up confidently from midrange and drew help that freed shooters on the perimeter. His decision making kept Houston\u2019s offense fluid.<\/p>\n<p>Amen Thompson and Reed Sheppard each added 16 points, combining energy with composure. Thompson\u2019s transition dunk early in the fourth quarter stretched the lead to 83-72 and sparked a decisive run. Jabari Smith Jr. chipped in 13 points and 11 rebounds, controlling the glass and spacing the floor to keep driving lanes open.<\/p>\n<p>The game was tight through three quarters, with neither side able to break it open. Kawhi Leonard kept Los Angeles afloat with 24 points and eight rebounds, though he shot 7 of 19 under steady defensive pressure. John Collins added 17, but the Clippers struggled to find consistent secondary scoring and rhythm in the half court.<\/p>\n<p>Houston seized control to start the fourth. Defensive stops turned into clean offensive possessions, and the Rockets\u2019 discipline limited second chances and forced contested attempts late. The Clippers never fully recovered from the early surge.<\/p>\n<p>                    <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/JN9LXf.png\" alt=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\n                    The Daily Sabah Newsletter\n                <\/p>\n<p>\n                    Keep up to date with what\u2019s happening in Turkey,<br \/>\n                    it\u2019s region and the world.\n                <\/p>\n<p>                    SIGN ME UP\n                <\/p>\n<p>\n                    You can unsubscribe at any time. By signing up you are agreeing to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.<br \/>\n                    This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.\n                <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Houston Rockets tightened their grip on third place in the Western Conference on Monday night, riding a&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":596607,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3794],"tags":[1307,7,292,194,4066,938,6,211],"class_list":{"0":"post-596606","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-houston-rockets","8":"tag-alperen-sengun","9":"tag-basketball","10":"tag-houston","11":"tag-houston-rockets","12":"tag-houstonrockets","13":"tag-kevin-durant","14":"tag-nba","15":"tag-rockets"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116051950094319334","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/596606","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=596606"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/596606\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/596607"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=596606"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=596606"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=596606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}