Durant's clutch fourth-quarter heroics and a dominant early lead secured the Rockets' vital win, will the 76ers be able to bounce back and end their losing streak?
The Houston Rockets closed their regular-season matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers with a 113-102 win on Thursday night, using a strong start, a dominant third quarter, and late-game shotmaking to hold off a Philadelphia comeback attempt.
Houston led early in the first quarter and never looked back. The Rockets built a nine-point lead after the opening period and stretched the lead to 17 by halftime and then widened the gap to 23 points by the end of the third quarter. Philadelphia found some life in the fourth with a 16-0 run that made things interesting late, but it wasn't enough to complete the comeback.
Houston answered every push. Kevin Durant scored 29 points and hit two clutch threes down the stretch to stop the comeback. This has been a trend for the superstar this season, as he is one of the league's highest-scoring players in the fourth quarter. Jabari Smith Jr. and Amen Thompson both chipped in with 19 points, and Tari Eason scored 15 off the bench.
Philadelphia was led by Tyrese Maxey's 23 points and VJ Edgecombe's 21. Quentin Grimes was the main spark plug for Philadelphia late in the game, scoring 11 points in the fourth and making the game closer than it had any right to be.
The 76ers struggled for much of the game and were without Joel Embiid after he underwent an appendectomy in Houston earlier in the day. The absence of Embiid proved costly and made an already difficult playoff race even tougher.
The result had major implications for both teams. Houston improved to 51-29 and are in a battle with the Los Angeles Lakers for the No. 4 seed in the conference, a spot that would guarantee home court advantage in their first-round matchup.
For Philadelphia, the loss was more damaging. The 76ers dropped to 43-37, lost their third straight game, and are tied with the Charlotte Hornets for eighth place in the Eastern Conference. With Embiid out indefinitely, Philadelphia will need a lot of things to go right in order to avoid the play-in tournament.
Houston got the win they needed to stay in the seeding race, while Philadelphia will have to regroup and play well to make their post-season path smoother.
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Wes Dixon is a contributing writer to 76ersRoundtable. He can be reached at dixonwesley286@gmail.com