Rockets Beat Hawks 121-114 to Reach 3-0, Durant Scores 22 and Sheppard Adds 19

The Houston Rockets beat the Atlanta Hawks 121-114 on Saturday, October 24, 2026, at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. Kevin Durant led Houston with 22 points, Reed Sheppard scored 19 points off the bench, and the Rockets reached 3-0 while Atlanta fell to 2-1 after a late three-point attempt that could have cut the lead to two missed in the closing sequence.

Houston led at halftime and kept the lead through the second half. The quarter scores were Houston 30, 29, 33 and 29, and Atlanta 26, 22, 33 and 33. Houston led 59-48 at halftime and 92-81 after the third quarter, and Atlanta won the fourth quarter 33-29 without closing the final seven-point gap.

Durant leads a balanced Houston score sheet

Durant scored 22 points on 8 of 15 shooting, with 3 of 7 three-pointers and 3 of 3 free throws. He added four rebounds and two assists in 36 minutes 33 seconds. He was the top scorer in a Houston lineup that put seven players in double figures.

Sheppard scored 19 points on 7 of 13 shooting, with 5 of 11 three-pointers, six rebounds and seven assists in 30 minutes 17 seconds off the bench. Tari Eason also scored 19 points. Amen Thompson scored 17 points with 11 rebounds and six assists, and Alperen Sengun scored 17 points with 10 rebounds and seven assists, giving Houston two double doubles in the starting group. Jabari Smith Jr. scored 14 points and Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 11 points.

Jalen Johnson carries Atlanta

Atlanta was led by Jalen Johnson, who scored 26 points with nine rebounds and 16 assists. Johnson finished as the top scorer in the game and the top playmaker on either team, but Atlanta still needed one more stop and one more basket late to turn the finish into a one-possession game.

That chance came in the closing sequence. A Nickeil Alexander-Walker three-point attempt with 24 seconds left that could have cut the deficit to two fell off the rim, with Atlanta trailing 117-112 at that point in the sequence reported by Wire Report. Houston then closed out the 121-114 result.

What the quarters say

Houston built its margin before halftime. The Rockets won the first quarter 30-26 and the second 29-22, a combined 59-48 first half. Atlanta answered with 33 points in the third quarter, but Houston also scored 33 in the third, so the halftime gap held at 11 points entering the fourth at 92-81.

Atlanta won the fourth quarter 33-29 and cut the game to five points in the closing sequence at 117-112, but the Rockets had enough scoring spread across the roster to hold the lead. Seven Houston players reached double figures, two Houston players recorded double doubles, and the bench leader, Sheppard, matched Eason at 19 points behind Durant.

Houston leaves Atlanta at 3-0. Atlanta leaves its home floor at 2-1, with Johnson's 26 points, nine rebounds and 16 assists standing as the best individual line of the night in a losing result.