NBA

Houston Rockets at Boston Celtics

· National Basketball Association
31-14, 16-7 Away
Final
114 - 112

32-15, 15-9 Home

Thompson hits game-winning shot and scores 33 points as Rockets rally past Celtics 114-112

Dillon Brooks ties franchise record with 10th triple of game

Dillon Brooks shot 10 of 15 from 3-point range and led Houston with 36 points. The Rockets won for the ninth time in 11 games.

Jaylen Brown had 28 points for the Celtics, and Jayson Tatum added 19 after a scoreless first half. Luke Kornet had 18 and Kristaps Porzingis scored 17 to go with eight rebounds.

Rockets leading scorer Jalen Green was held to 12 points.

Thompson broke free off an inbounds play and went in for an easy dunk, pushing Houston in front 112-110. But after a timeout, Tatum got the ball near midcourt and drove in for the tying layup with 5.3 seconds left.

Brooks’ 10th 3-pointer gave the Rockets a 108-106 lead with 1:39 to play.

The Celtics easily won the first meeting between the teams in Houston on Jan. 3.

Houston coach Ime Udoka said before the game that forward Cam Whitmore was “sick and back at the hotel.”

Takeaways Rockets: Coming off their second win over East-leading Cleveland in a week, the surprising Rockets rallied after falling behind by 12 early in the final quarter.

Celtics: With center Al Horford a very late scratch after going through warmups, Derrick White (bruised right shin) and Sam Hauser (right hip) all out, coach Joe Mazzulla mixed and matched some unusual lineups by going deep into the bench.

Key moment Thompson took the ball just outside the 3-point line, drove and hit his winning shot over Brown.

Key stat Tatum missed all five shot attempts in the opening half.

Up next The Rockets are at the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday, the third stop on a four-game trip. The Celtics host the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday.

Regular Season Series

Series tied 1-1

Recent Plays

4th 0.0 End of Game 114 - 112
4th 0.0 End of the 4th Quarter 114 - 112
4th 0.0 Celtics offensive team rebound 114 - 112
4th 0.0 Payton Pritchard misses 59-foot three point jumper 114 - 112
4th 1.1 Amen Thompson makes 11-foot driving floating jump shot (Fred VanVleet assists) 114 - 112

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nba/500/hou.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originHOU https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nba/500/bos.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originBOS
41-92 FG 39-80
45 Field Goal % 49
17-41 3PT 15-39
41 Three Point % 38
15-21 FT 19-20
71 Free Throw % 95
39 Rebounds 41
12 Offensive Rebounds 7
27 Defensive Rebounds 34
29 Assists 21
7 Steals 4
1 Blocks 4
7 Turnovers 14
1 Team Turnovers 1
8 Total Turnovers 15
0 Technical Fouls 2
0 Total Technical Fouls 2
0 Flagrant Fouls 0
7 Points Conceded Off Turnovers 21
18 Fast Break Points 12
42 Points in Paint 34
22 Fouls 20
11 Largest Lead 12
Boston Celtics Boston Celtics Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Jordan Walsh, G Day-To-Day Dec 22
Jayson Tatum, F Out Oct 9
Houston Rockets Houston Rockets Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Dorian Finney-Smith, F Out Dec 24
Alperen Sengun, C Day-To-Day Dec 24
Jae'Sean Tate, F Day-To-Day Dec 24
Fred VanVleet, G Out Sep 22

Game Information

TD Garden

Location: Boston, MA
Attendance: 19,156 · Capacity:

2025-26 Southwest Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
San Antonio 22 7 .759 - W7
Houston 17 10 .630 4 L2
Memphis 14 16 .467 8.5 W1
Dallas 12 19 .387 11 W1
New Orleans 8 23 .258 15 L1

2025-26 Atlantic Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
New York 21 9 .700 - W1
Boston 18 11 .621 2.5 W3
Toronto 18 13 .581 3.5 W1
Philadelphia 16 12 .571 4 L1
Brooklyn 9 19 .321 11 W2
Full Standings

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