Kevin Durant scored 23 points, Tari Eason and Reed Sheppard combined for 41 off the bench and the host Houston Rockets claimed a 135-112 victory over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday.
Durant tallied 16 first-quarter points to get the Rockets rolling while Eason (20 points, 4 for 6 3-pointers) and Sheppard (21 points, 5 for 8 3-pointers) teamed to extend the margin to 28 in the second quarter before helping fend off the plucky Wizards into the final period.
Alperen Sengun (16 points, 13 rebounds) posted a double-double while Amen Thompson (18 points, eight assists) and Jabari Smith Jr. (15 points, eight rebounds) contributed to another balanced offensive attack for the Rockets, who entered play leading the NBA in offensive rating.
Winners of seven of their last eight, the Rockets shot 53.1% from the floor, including 17 for 34 on 3s, and posted a 53-39 rebounding advantage.
Alex Sarr paced the Wizards with 25 points and 11 rebounds, while Kyshawn George added 16 points, six rebounds and a game-high nine assists. Washington suffered its 10th straight loss.
Durant shot 5 of 8 in the opening period as the Rockets responded to a 10-3 run by the Wizards, which netted a 16-15 lead, with a push that resulted in Houston leading 40-29 entering the second.
The Rockets took off in the second, shooting 16 of 27 in that period while connecting on 7 of 13 3-pointers. Houston extended to a 79-51 lead on a Sengun layup with 1:20 left in the half, and entered the intermission with a plus-17 margin on the glass. Four Rockets — Durant, Eason, Sengun, and Smith — were in double-figures by the break. Eason scored nine in the second period.
When Durant sank a pair of free throws with 9:10 left in the third, the Rockets led 87-58. The Wizards clawed back by attacking the paint and pushing the pace, and sliced that deficit to 100-87 when Corey Kispert converted two free throws with 32.2 seconds left in the period.
But Eason and Sheppard steered the Rockets back to a comfortable margin, and when Sheppard drilled a 3-pointer at the 7:04 mark of the final period, the Rockets led 121-100.
