One day later, Houston (33-20) dropped back to No. 4<\/a> after falling on night two of a home back-to-back versus the same oopponent, the Los Angeles Clippers<\/a>. Kevin Durant led the Rockets with 21 points (46.7%) and 6 assists, though he also committed a whopping 8 turnovers.<\/p>\n Houston led by as many as 15 points before the Clippers flipped the script in the second half, including a 24-4 run that began late in the third quarter and extended into the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n It was the final game before the All-Star break for both teams, so Houston will remain as the West\u2019s No. 4 seed for at least a week. Denver (35-20), which is tied with Houston in the loss column, moved up to No. 3.<\/p>\n The Nuggets have played two more games than the Rockets, which will even out before the conclusion of the NBA\u2019s 2025-26 regular season on April 12.<\/p>\n Need a news break? Check out the all new PLAY hub with puzzles, games and more!<\/a> From a statistical perspective, here is a look at postgame news and notes, as issued by Rockets PR:<\/p>\n \u2014 With the win, the Clippers split the season series with the Rockets, 2-2. Houston heads into the All-Star break with a 33-20 mark, matching its start to last season. Meanwhile, Los Angeles (26-28) has won three of its past four games.<\/p>\n \u2014 Houston lost, 105-102. The Rockets are 2-6 in games decided by three or fewer points this season, while the Clippers are 4-6. Houston has lost two of its past four games when holding opponents below 110 points after losing one game prior when doing so this season.<\/p>\n \u2014 The Rockets lost despite shooting 46.3% from the floor, hitting one more 3-pointer than the Clippers, and outrebounding Los Angeles by 13. All-time, Houston is 211-22 (.906) when shooting 45.0% or better while having more 3-point makes than its opponent and a rebounding differential of 10 or better.<\/p>\n \u2014 Los Angeles had 13 steals and scored 23 points off 21 turnovers by Houston. Opponents have recorded 10+ steals in five of the past six games this month after doing so twice the 14 games prior. The opposition has scored 20+ points off turnovers in seven of the past 13 games after doing so twice in the previous 15 games.<\/p>\n \u2014 The Rockets had 9 blocks and rank fourth in the NBA with 5.8 blocks per game this season. Houston hasn\u2019t ranked top-five in blocks in a season since finishing third in 2013-14.<\/p>\n \u2014 All five starters scored in double-figures for the Rockets. The entire starting lineup has scored 10+ points in four of the past seven games after not doing so in any of the 15 games prior.<\/p>\n \u2014 Jabari Smith Jr. had 16 points and 12 rebounds. He has recorded three straight double-doubles after having three over the previous 25 games. Smith has scored 15+ points 30 times this season after doing so 18 times in 2024-25.<\/p>\n \u2014 Reed Sheppard led all reserves with 17 points while shooting 5-of-10 from 3-point range. He has scored 15+ points in a career-high tying three straight games (the first came in November 2025). Over the past two games, Sheppard is shooting 9-of-16 from 3-point range (38.7%) after shooting 11-of-54 the nine games prior (20.4%). For the season, Sheppard has made a team-high 128 treys.<\/p>\n \u2014 Alperen Sengun had 16 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 blocks. He enters the All-Star break averaging 20.7 points, 9.4 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.02 blocks per game this season. Only three players in NBA history (Larry Bird, Kevin Garnett, and Giannis Antetokounmpo) have averaged at least 20.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 1.0 steals, and 1.0 blocks in a single season.<\/p>\n \u2014 Kawhi Leonard had 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting in the fourth quarter after having a total of 8 points on 3-of-10 shooting over the first three quarters. He finished with 27 points, which extends his streak of scoring 20+ points to 33 games. That is the fourth-longest streak in Clippers franchise history. Leonard also had 12 rebounds, marking his fifth double-double of the season and his first since a Jan. 5 matchup versus Golden State.<\/p>\n Next up for the Rockets is All-Star Weekend, which will feature Durant and Sengun in Sunday\u2019s All-Star Game and Sheppard in Friday\u2019s Rising Stars tournament<\/a>.<\/p>\n They will then have a few days to regroup before Houston resumes its 2025-26 schedule next Thursday at Charlotte (26-29). Tipoff of Rockets-Hornets is at 6:00 p.m. Central.<\/p>\n More: Reed Sheppard, Tristen Newton to represent Rockets in NBA Rising Stars<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/UiXx-W8a494\/maxresdefault.jpg\")
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