Reed Sheppard’s return gave Houston exactly what it needed in Atlanta.
After missing Friday’s win over San Antonio because of bruising in his left knee, the third-year guard was back in the mix Saturday on the second night of a road back-to-back, and the Rockets had every reason to be glad he was. With Fred VanVleet out for knee injury maintenance and Marcus Smart sidelined by a left forearm strain, Sheppard moved into the starting lineup and helped steady a tired group in a 121-114 victory over the Hawks.
He finished with 19 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds, shooting 7-of-13 overall and 5-of-11 from 3-point range. Houston was plus-19 with him on the floor, matching Kevin Durant for the best plus/minus in the game.
“He had really good balance,” Rockets head coach Ime Udoka said of Sheppard. “He had some fresh legs coming off a game missed.”
Udoka also pointed to the way Sheppard fit into the offense and worked on the other end.
“He’s a complementary piece to whatever lineup he’s out there with. He’s confident and extremely aggressive in hunting his shots.
He made some plays defensively. Everybody made a few mistakes here and there, but his activity on the defensive end was great, and then he had some really nice pocket passes to Alpi (Alperen Sengun).
Big night for him.”
The performance was a sharp contrast from Houston’s opener against Dallas, when Sheppard had only 3 points on 1-of-6 shooting and turned it over three times in 16 minutes. He then sat out Friday entirely.
He wasn’t the only Rocket to produce in Atlanta. Kevin Durant scored 22 points and added 4 rebounds, while Amen Thompson put up 17 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists and made all nine of his free throws.
Tari Eason chipped in 19 points, Alperen Sengun logged 17 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists, and Jabari Smith Jr. finished with 14 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Bogdan Bogdanovic added 11 points in 20 minutes.
For the Hawks, Jalen Johnson filled the stat sheet with 26 points, 16 assists and 9 rebounds.
The win moved Houston to 3-0 for the first time since 2017-18, when the Rockets went 65-17, the best regular-season mark in franchise history.
The teams will meet again Monday in Houston. Tipoff at Toyota Center is set for 7:30 p.m. Central, with the game on Space City Home Network and NBA League Pass.
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Ime Udoka is expected to offer a more detailed update before Monday nights game against the Hawks, which should give a better sense of where Adams stands in the recovery process. For a team that has been careful managing his workload, the next timeline matters, because Houston has not had many chances to build continuity with its interior depth intact. [Read more 🡒]