Kevin Durant scored a game-high 26 points and Alperen Sengun had 16 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists to lead the visiting Houston Rockets to a 128-101 victory over the Boston Celtics on Saturday night.
Amen Thompson added 17 points, nine rebounds and eight assists for Houston, which has won three in a row since an 0-2 start. The loss ended Boston’s three-game winning streak.
The Rockets shot 54.5% from the field and 65.5% from 3-point territory (19 of 29). Houston has scored 137, 139 and 128 points over its last three games.
Baylor Scheierman was Boston’s leading scorer with 17 points. Payton Pritchard added 14 and Jaylen Brown finished with 12 points in 22 minutes.
Derrick White shot 2 of 11 from the field and was limited to five points in 19 minutes. Boston shot 38.8%) from the field and 31.8% from 3-point range (14 of 44).
The Rockets attempted 35 free throws, 28 more than the Celtics, and had a 53-36 edge in rebounding. Houston’s Jabari Smith, Josh Okogie, Tari Eason and Reed Sheppard each finished with 12 points and Clint Capela pulled down 10 rebounds.
The Rockets led 37-24 after one quarter and held their largest lead of the first half when a Smith 3-pointer pushed the lead to 66-46 with 1:03 left in the second quarter. It was 66-48 at halftime.
Durant scored 20 points in the first half, when Houston shot 57.1% from the field, including 9 of 16 from 3-point territory. The Rockets outrebounded the Celtics 29-17 through two quarters.
Houston had a 97-72 advantage entering the final 12 minutes. Boston faced its largest deficit of the season when two Aaron Holiday free throws gave the Rockets a 118-82 lead with 6:12 to play.
It was Boston’s fifth game in seven nights.
