The Houston Rockets survived the late rally after coming back down 111-106 against the San Antonio Spurs to earn their third straight victory on Tuesday night.
Alperen Sengun dropped a near triple-double with 20 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists, while Kevin Durant added 18 points and Reed Sheppard scored 12 of 21 points in the fourth quarter for the Rockets.
Houston trailed by as many as 16 and trailed by 10 before opening the fourth quarter with a big run to close the gap.
The game was tied with about two minutes to play when Sheppard blocked a three-point attempt by Julian Champagnie, Jabari Smith Jr. put the Rockets on top 106-104 with a fadeaway shot a few seconds later.
Sengun made a basket with about 30 seconds left to extend the lead to 108-14 before Stephon Castle missed a three-point attempt, followed by two more free throws from Sheppard to seal the victory.
Despite falling short, Champagnie made eight 3-pointers and led the Spurs with 27 points, while Victor Wembanyama added 14 points and 10 rebounds.
The Rockets trailed by five midway through the fourth before Sheppard scored all the team’s points during an 8-2 run that put them on top 101-100 with about four minutes left.
San Antonio led by 10 entering the fourth but was outscored by Houston through the first nine points of the quarter.
Meanwhile, tip-off was delayed by 22 minutes after a player bent one of the edges during warm-up and it had to be replaced.
Both teams play on Thursday evening: the Spurs visit the Jazz, while the Rockets face Philadelphia.
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