The Rockets opened a challenging road back-to-back with Thursday’s 128-122 overtime loss (box score) at Philadelphia. Houston is now 1-5 in overtime games this season.
With the loss, the Rockets slipped into a tie with the Los Angeles Lakers (26-16) for the No. 4 and No. 5 spots in the Western Conference standings. Philadelphia is 24-19 and No. 5 in the East.
By point differential, the Rockets (+6.1) are easily second in the West, trailing only defending NBA champion Oklahoma City. But Houston’s issues in closing out tight games, as evidenced by its overtime record, are holding the record back.
Against the 76ers, Houston led by eight points with under five minutes to play, and by seven with just over three minutes to play
“We built ourselves a lead, and then (had) some plays that are hard to explain down the stretch,” head coach Ime Udoka said postgame.
Key individual statistics were as follows:
Led by Embiid, the Sixers made 19-of-22 free throws (86.4%) as a team. That proved very important on a night that Houston shot 12-of-24 (50.0%) from the line.
Durant’s game-high total of eight turnovers including a crushing mistake in the final minute of regulation, when Houston had the ball with a two-point lead. Instead, a transition layup tied the game and eventually sent it to overtime.
Next up for the Rockets is Friday’s game at Detroit, which will conclude the back-to-back. Tipoff is at 6:00 p.m. Central, and the game will be televised to a national audience on Prime Video.
The Pistons (32-10) own the NBA’s second-best record.
This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: ‘Hard to explain’: Rockets collapse late in Philly, now 1-5 in overtime
Reporting by Ben DuBose, Rockets Wire / Rockets Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
