Reed Sheppard isn’t the best player on the Houston Rockets, but right now he just might be their most important.
Sheppard aims to continue his strong play of late when the Rockets visit the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday.
This is the first game of a brief two-game road trip for Houston, which will visit Detroit on Friday before heading back to Southeast Texas. The Rockets reached the midpoint of their season Tuesday with a 111-106 home victory over the San Antonio Spurs, which brought their 41-game record to 26-15.
Alperen Sengun registered 20 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists, while Kevin Durant scored 18 points. But it was Sheppard, the second-year guard, who sparked Houston’s win by scoring 12 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter.
“It’s a great feeling,” said Sheppard, who has knocked down 11 3-pointers over the last three games. “A lot of it is confidence from me, but a lot of it is also my teammates. Once I make one there, they’re looking for me, telling me to go get the ball, and then you got the crowd playing a big role as well.”
Jabari Smith Jr. has been another key during Houston’s three-game winning streak. He scored a season-high 32 points in Sunday’s win over the New Orleans Pelicans before adding 17 points with no turnovers in 35 minutes on Tuesday.
“They turn us into a different team when they play that aggressively and knock down shots,” Durant said of Smith and Sheppard.
The additional depth is important for Houston at the moment, as coach Ime Udoka revealed Tuesday that center Steven Adams’ ankle injury will sideline him indefinitely.
“Severely sprained ankle,” Udoka said. “I think (it’s) a Grade 3 or so, but still gathering information, opinions. But I don’t think he’ll be back anytime soon.”
As for the Sixers, they are no strangers to injuries. That said, they are generally healthy at the moment. Paul George (left knee) missed the last two games and Joel Embiid (rught ankle) rested Tuesday in the second half of a back-to-back, but both veterans could return to the court Thursday. Embiid is probable and George is questionable.
Tyrese Maxey could certainly use the help these days. The dynamic guard leads Philadelphia in scoring at 30 points per game, but he’s shooting just 37.5 percent from the field and 25 percent from 3-point range in his last four games.
Maxey was just 7 of 25 from the floor in a quiet 20-point performance in Tuesday’s 116-110 home loss to the Phoenix Suns.
“They used a bunch of guys on him. They were super physical on him,” said Philadelphia coach Nick Nurse, whose team has lost four of its last six games. “I did think he got some pretty decent opportunities. Unfortunately he had a little bit of a cold shooting night.”
On the bright side for the Sixers, rookie VJ Edgecombe delivered 25 points and seven rebounds in a crisp effort against Phoenix. Kelly Oubre added 21 points, one day after scoring 18 in the front end of a back-to-back. Those two scoring performances were his best two efforts since returning from a knee injury two weeks ago.
“I still don’t feel like I’m back 100%,” Oubre said, “but every day is a new challenge, and I try to get 1% better every day.”
This is the first of two matchups between the teams this season. The Rockets won both meetings — each by seven points — in 2024-25.
