Rockets Fall to Pacers, Lose Eighth Straight Road Game

The Houston Rockets lost to the Indiana Pacers 115-102. Alperen Sengun scored 25 points.

Houston got a quick six-point lead, 13-7, with Jalen Green scoring six of those points in the game's first four minutes before Indiana called a timeout. Reed Sheppard saw some early minutes after having the first 20-point game of his career last night, checking in with 5:28 left to play in the first quarter.

Ime Udoka had the Rockets play a zone defense late in the first quarter due to the Pacers tying the game to try and get a stop, which they did, but thrn went back into man on the next possession. The score at the end of the first period was 30-30. Indiana was able to make a push due to the Rockets' shooting. They started 9-for-12 shooting from the field and ended the quarter 12-for-24 shooting from the field. Sengun scored eight points for Houston and Thomas Bryant collected 10.

Cam Whitmore also saw some early minutes as he checked in to start the second quarter. Tyrese Haliburton made a three, putting the Pacers up by eight, forcing the Rockets to call a timeout. Straight out of the timeout, Obi Toppin made a three, capping off a 10-0 run for Indiana. Haliburton led the Pacers to scoring 37 in the second quarter, scoring 12 points. Houston trailed 67-57 going into halftime. Sengun went into the half with 15 points and Haliburton scored 21 points.

Shooting was the largest factor in the first half. Houston shot 46% from the field and 37.5% from three. Indiana shot 56.8% from the field and 47.6% from three. Bench points were also big as the Rockets had just 12 compared to the Pacers' 22.

Udoka had the Rockets start the second half by blitzing and double-teaming Haliburton on defense, which did lead to two turnovers and two buckets, but it ultimately did not have a great impact as Indiana gained an 81-69 lead, causing Houston to call a timeout. The Rockets went down by 17 points, and Steven Adams checked into the game to play alongside Sengun in a double-big lineup. Sheppard, Amen Thompson, Tari Eason, Adams, and Sengun were the five playing to close the third quarter and finished the period on a 10-0 run, helping Houston cut the lead down to just seven, 90-83, going into the fourth quarter.

Eason cashed a three to cut the lead down to two early into the fourth period. The Pacers gained a seven-point lead but the Rockets cut the lead down to just one, the closest they had been since the second quarter, leading to a timeout called by Indiana. Thompson followed the timeout with a layup, giving Houston the lead after an 8-0 run. After their run, Houston missed 13 straight shots and went down 97-110.

The Rockets return on Thursday against the New Orleans Pelicans at Smoothie King Center. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. CST.

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