March 2, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, United States; Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant (7) dribbles the ball while Washington Wizards forward Justin Champaney (9) defends during the second half at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Image With the final week of the regular season approaching and the Houston Rockets in contention for the third seed in the West, the Rockets will need to mitigate the mistakes that have plagued them all season if they are to defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets.
The Rockets claimed a 123-118 win over the Washington Wizards on Monday in a game that wasn’t as close as the final score. After two wins in a three-game road trip, they have played eight of their next 10 games at home, starting with Thursday’s game against the Golden State Warriors.
For the Rockets, the win over the Wizards was typical in many ways. Alperen Sengun recorded his 26th double-double of the season with 32 points and 13 rebounds, while Kevin Durant scored 30 points on just 15 shot attempts.
Amen Thompson added a double-double (22 points, 12 rebounds) before leaving with an ankle injury in the fourth quarter, and Reed Shepherd continued his stellar play in the second half with 19 points, 10 assists, 7 rebounds, and 6 steals.
But the Rockets also had 21 turnovers, with Sengun (8) and Durant (6) responsible for two-thirds of the total. Houston ranks last in the league in turnovers per game (14.5), and their inability to consistently maintain ball security has been a hindrance throughout the season.
“We turned it over too many times, but a lot of it was too late,” Durant said, echoing a familiar refrain. “We can fix that kind of stuff.”
Sengun said: “We’ll fix it on film. It’s easy to fix it the next game.”
With the playoffs quickly approaching, the Rockets have yet to prove they can correct their tendency to play in crowds and fuel opponents with live-ball turnovers. Durant and Sengun shouldered a huge burden to run the offense, while Sheppard and Thompson also helped.
But it would be disingenuous to suggest that Houston could flip a switch and protect the ball more intensively when asked to do so. The need for improvement in that regard is clear.
After winning six of seven games from Jan. 7-19, the Warriors sit in eighth place in the West with a 6-11 record, and lost 114-101 to the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday, putting them one game ahead of the Clippers in the loss standings.
The Warriors are a group with no injuries, including Stephen Curry (knee), Jimmy Butler (knee), and Kristaps Porzingis (illness). Curry missed all 10 of the Warriors’ games last month and is not expected to be evaluated again until next week, when he approaches his 38th birthday.
After a strong first half effort against the Clippers, the Warriors fizzled out after the break and led 72-45 going into the final 24 minutes.
Their collective will will be tested in this expansion as their roster is undermined.
“It’s hard to sustain that effort for 48 minutes when you’re seriously undermanned,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “If we want to generate offense like we did in the first half, we have to generate that energy defensively.”
–Field level media
