Dominant defense ignites Rockets' furious comeback, snatching victory from Charlotte's grasp with late-game heroics from Kevin Durant.
After a slow start in the first three minutes with Kevin Durant being outscored 10-4 by the Hornets, Houston was looking like they were in trouble again. Hoping to avoid the same result as their last matchup, KD took things into his own hands with a chase down block on LaMelo Ball’s dunk attempt.
This set the defensive tone early, as Jabari joined the block party with another rejection on a dunk attempt by Ryan Kalkbrenner. Brandon Miller thought he might have better luck, only to meet a 37 year old at the rim for his second blocked dunk of the quarter.
That defense sparked a quick 8-2 run to tie things at 12, giving everyone much more confidence in this game.
Unfortunately Houston finished the quarter down 24-33 after being behind by 11 at one point. For about half of the second quarter, the lead was floating around this double digit mark.
Once again defense led to offense, this time a 17-2 run got the Rockets their first lead of the game and extended it to 49-45. Increased ball pressure from a smaller lineup forced turnovers and tough shots, allowing Houston some rare fast break opportunities.
After a buzzer beating corner three by Grant Williams, the Rockets entered the locker room with only a one point lead. His back to back threes to start the third quarter forced a timeout as Charlotte reclaimed the lead 60-55.
Now in the same predicament as the first two quarters, it became obvious this wasn’t going to be an easy game. This proved to be true, as it took Houston until the end of the quarter to regain the lead at 80-78.
Somehow making it out of the third up one on the scoreboard, we had ourselves a game. Three comebacks in three quarters, now they just needed to protect a lead. A tough thing to do with Kevin Durant on the bench, but Reed Sheppard was up to the task.
Despite not hitting a three up to this point, he still continued to play with confidence and poise. The impressive lefty layup over a 7-footer was my favorite of his 6 quick points. This stint gave Houston their biggest lead of the game, simultaneously getting KD more than seven minutes of rest.
As the lead grew from seven to eleven points, they ultimately landed right in the middle when Durant subbed back in with 4:37 remaining. A quick 7-0 run in just over a minute put the score at 95-91 for yet another clutch game.
But that’s why you have Kevin Durant. Three straight buckets and two clutch free throws capped off his 35 point night on 14/20 shooting, as covered on Roundtable. A much needed win, started and finished by your future Hall-of-Famer,