Rockets break open tight game in 4th, knock off Raptors

Kevin Durant scored a game-high 29 points, while Amen Thompson and Jabari Smith Jr. chipped in 23 points apiece as the Houston Rockets pulled away in the fourth quarter of a 113-99 victory over the visiting Toronto Raptors on Tuesday.

Durant made 12 of 16 shots from the field, including four 3-pointers, to pace the balanced offensive attack. Smith shot 8 of 14 from the field and sank three 3-pointers, and Thompson added 10 free throws and a team-high six assists. Smith and Thompson were integral to a fourth-quarter rally that turned a three-point lead entering the frame into a 15-point cushion.

Alperen Sengun (14 points, 12 rebounds) ignited the run with a three-point play that extended the Houston lead to 91-83 with 10:22 remaining. Thompson added a 3-pointer, his only one of the contest, before Smith turned a midcourt steal into a transition dunk for a 98-87 advantage.

When Smith converted a layup through a Brandon Ingram foul following a mad scramble on the offensive end, the Rockets led 102-87. Houston led by as many as 20 in the final frame.

RJ Barrett paced the Raptors with 25 points and six rebounds, while Scottie Barnes added 24 points. Toronto shaved a 10-point deficit to 73-72 late in the third before the Rockets pulled away.

Barnes singlehandedly offset the Rockets' hot start from the perimeter. While Houston started 3 for 3 from deep, Barnes drilled a pair of 3-pointers and added an emphatic dunk that pushed Toronto to a 22-21 lead at the 2:41 mark of the first quarter. Behind Durant and Smith, who scored a combined 22 points in the opening period, the Rockets shot 60% in the first quarter.

But the Rockets' six turnovers in that first enabled the Raptors to forge a 29-29 deadlock entering the second. Barrett took the baton from Barnes in the second quarter, tallying 11 points in the frame to fuel a back-and-forth period that included six lead changes and two ties.

Houston finally extended to a working margin down the stretch of the first half, taking advantage of the Raptors closing the second by missing four field goals while committing three turnovers. The Rockets' 58-49 lead at the intermission marked their largest margin of the first half.

--Field Level Media