Dominating the boards, the Rockets secured victory by relentlessly crashing the glass, creating crucial second chances and overwhelming Toronto's defense.
The Houston Rockets didn’t need perfect basketball Tuesday night to beat the Toronto Raptors. They needed control of the glass.
They got it- and kept it all night.
Houston overwhelmed Toronto on the boards in a 61-37 rebounding advantage, turning missed shots into second chances and slowly wearing the Raptors down over four quarters. The gap was so wide that even a night with 17 turnovers couldn’t keep the Rockets from pulling away late.
The most eye-opening performance came from Clint Capela, who made his minutes count in a big way. In just 13 minutes, Capela grabbed 11 rebounds, including six on the offensive glass. Nearly every time the Raptors forced a miss during his stretch on the floor, Capela seemed to be waiting underneath to clean it up.
Alperen Sengun did his part as well, finishing with 13 rebounds, four of them offensive, while continuing to anchor Houston’s interior presence. His ability to rebound in traffic and quickly transition possessions into offense helped Houston keep Toronto from finding rhythm.
The rebounding effort didn’t stop with the bigs.
Reed Sheppard added seven rebounds, all on the defensive end, repeatedly ending Toronto possessions and allowing Houston to push the pace the other way. Kevin Durant chipped in seven boards of his own, including one offensive rebound that extended a key possession during Houston’s fourth-quarter surge.
By the time the game reached its closing minutes, the pattern was clear. Toronto might have had stretches of shot-making, but Houston simply had more chances.
Second chances became points, points became runs, and runs eventually became separation.
The Rockets didn’t win this game with flawless execution.
They won it by owning the glass.