Celtics dominance silenced Rockets' streak. Boston controlled the glass and shot the lights out, leaving Houston scrambling all night.
The Boston Celtics put the Rockets’ win streak to bed on Wednesday night in Houston in a brutal 114-93 domination.
The Celtics entered the night without Jaylen Brown or a rest advantage, but still dictated terms early. Houston jumped out to a brief six-point lead in the opening minutes, then never pulled that far ahead again.
Both teams looked uncomfortable to start. Boston missed eight straight threes in the first quarter, Houston missed four free throws, and neither side could find rhythm. By the end of the first, both teams had just seven made field goals, with Boston shooting 31.8-percent and Houston converting exactly a third of its attempts.
The frame closed as one of the lowest scoring quarters we’ve seen across the league this year at 18-17 Celtics, and the warning signs were already there.
The second quarter belonged almost entirely to Jabari Smith Jr. He knocked down three threes and scored 11 points in the frame, accounting for the bulk of Houston’s offense. No other Rocket made more than one field goal in the quarter.
Amen Thompson briefly took control without scoring- missing all three shot attempts- as he rebounded, pushed pace, drew fouls, and absorbed contact, but the momentum wouldn’t stick.
Meanwhile, Boston leaned on Derrick White and Payton Pritchard, who each scored nine in the quarter as the Celtics widened the gap to 49-42 at halftime. Houston entered the break with just eight assists and zero fast-break points, a clear sign the ball wasn’t moving.
Any hope of a reset disappeared in the third. Boston caught fire from deep, hitting five threes in the first five minutes and seven total in the quarter at 50-percent efficiency. Offensive rebounds turned into clean kick-outs, and Houston never recovered.
The Celtics stretched the lead into the 20’s as White buried his fourth three of the quarter. Amen Thompson picked up his fourth foul in a collision that earned White a technical, but even that moment couldn’t slow Boston’s rhythm. By the end of the third, Boston had made as many threes in the quarter as Houston had all game. It was 85-63.
The fourth was damage control. Boston pushed the lead to 29 as Pritchard and Shireman continued to punish missed rotations. Houston briefly experimented with zone defense, but communication broke down, leading to wide-open looks.
Alperen Şengün, frustrated by physical coverage and missed calls, was ejected on a technicality with about six minutes remaining. Any remaining structure evaporated after that.
Houston was outrebounded 57-38 and managed just 12 offensive boards. The Rockets took only 30 threes, making 11, while Boston launched 51 from deep, making 19 of them.
Against one of the league’s best paint defenses, Houston never leaned hard enough into the math. No Rocket scored more than 15 points, and Boston controlled both the glass and the shot profile.
Wednesday night wasn’t about effort. It was about adaptation, and Houston never made the pivot.