Kevin Durant, Ime Udoka React to Reed Sheppard's Big Performance vs. Cavs

The Houston Rockets' much-needed 117-100 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday night came largely due to their intense defense and dominance on the glass. However, that doesn't mean they didn't get some impressive offense

Kevin Durant put up another vintage performance, dropping 30 points, four rebounds and seven assists on 11-for-17 shooting from the field. He took over in a game where no other Rocket hit 20 points. He hit the ground running, scoring 23 of Houston's 60 first-half points.

Off the bench, however, the Rockets got a major two-way spark in the form of Reed Sheppard. The second-year guard continued his breakout season as a contributor, putting up 18 points, three rebounds, eight assists, five steals and a block.

Despite being 6-foot-2, Sheppard was a major disruptor on the defensive end, holding his own against Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell and the rest of Cleveland's guards.

After the game, Durant talked about the 21-year-old's confidence and contributions in 32 minutes of action. The 6-foot-11 sniper

"We trust him to go out there and make plays," Durant said. "Him and Steven [Adams] had a great synergy in the pick-and-roll. Me and Reed, our chemistry is growing in that pick-and-roll. He's just playing with confidence man. I love what he's doing. When somebody shoots a one-legged pull-up [jumper] like that, you can tell they got confidence in their game."

Reed Sheppard goes right at Darius Garland then stares him down 😭 pic.twitter.com/eSk1yT5x9R
— B☄️ (@BanteredB_) December 28, 2025

Head coach Ime Udoka also talked about Sheppard's night, but focused more on his defense. After Saturday's performance, he's averaging 1.6 steals per game, which leads the Rockets. Over the last two games, Houston has allowed an average of just 98 points with a 104.8 defensive rating.

"He has great instincts. It's mainly fouling of the shooters when he's in a good position, I think he's really improved as far as that," Udoka said. "But he had four [steals] in the first half, and 10 of their 12 turnovers were steals, so guys were active.

"He was the head of the snake as far as that, but always had great hands coming out of college, and anticipation's good. We just want him to be more solid when he's guarding on ball and not fouling shooters as much. I think that's something that we as a team need to improve on, and he's gotten better at it as well."

Along with 1.6 steals, Sheppard is averaging 13.4 points, three rebounds and 3.5 assists on 45-43-79 shooting splits. He is in serious contention for not only the Most Improved Player award, but also Sixth Man of the Year.

His leap on both ends of the floor from year one to year two has been incredible, considering he was called upon to be a major contributor for a title contender after limited opportunities in 2024-25. Sheppard's development has gone quicker than expected.