Houston Rockets at Chicago Bulls
· National Basketball Association
Bulls race to 20-point lead in 1st quarter, hang on to beat the Rockets 132-124
Houston's loss, combined with San Antonio's 136-111 win over Miami, allowed the Spurs (54-18) to clinch the Southwest Division.
The Bulls (29-42) led by as many as 22 points after scoring a season-high 41 points in the first quarter. But, Chicago trailed by four points late and needed Buzelis' basket with 10.2 seconds remaining to move ahead to stay and post their first win over Houston in the teams' last five games.
Kevin Durant fueled the Rockets' (43-28) comeback by scoring 15 of his game-high 40 points in the fourth quarter. Durant was 15 of 23 from the field, marking the ninth straight game he shot 50% or better, which is the third-longest streak of his career.
Rockets coach Ime Udoka was ejected after being assessed his second technical foul of the game with 9.1 seconds remaining.
Sexton scored 17 of his points in the first quarter, while Buzelis finished with 23 and Leonard Miller 17. Josh Giddey, Tre Jones and Jalen Smith each scored 15 points for the Bulls, with Giddey adding 13 assists.
After trailing by 17 at the half, the Rockets took the lead on a Jabari Smith Jr. 3-pointer with 5:56 to play. Alperen Sengun scored 33 for the Rockets and Amen Thompson added 23.
Jalen Smith, who was listed as questionable after missing the Bulls' last game with an ankle injury, tied his season high in points and finished with six rebounds and two blocks off the bench despite being limited to 26 minutes.
The Rockets had won two straight after inserting second-year guard Reed Sheppard into the starting lineup. Sheppard shot 3 for 14 from 3-point distance.
Bulls: Visit Philadelphia on Wednesday.
Regular Season Series
Series tied 1-1
Recent Plays
| 4th 0.0 |  |
End of Game | 124 - 132 |
| 4th 0.0 | |
End of the 4th Quarter | 124 - 132 |
| 4th 3.3 |  |
Matas Buzelis defensive rebound | 124 - 132 |
| 4th 3.3 |  |
Kevin Durant misses 28-foot three point pullup jump shot | 124 - 132 |
| 4th 7.9 | |
Collin Sexton makes free throw 2 of 2 | 124 - 132 |
Statistics
 HOU |
 CHI |
|
|---|---|---|
| 49-92 | FG | 45-90 |
| 53 | Field Goal % | 50 |
| 11-41 | 3PT | 19-38 |
| 27 | Three Point % | 50 |
| 15-24 | FT | 23-28 |
| 63 | Free Throw % | 82 |
| 41 | Rebounds | 45 |
| 8 | Offensive Rebounds | 7 |
| 33 | Defensive Rebounds | 38 |
| 27 | Assists | 30 |
| 8 | Steals | 8 |
| 7 | Blocks | 4 |
| 17 | Turnovers | 14 |
| 0 | Team Turnovers | 2 |
| 17 | Total Turnovers | 16 |
| 2 | Technical Fouls | 1 |
| 2 | Total Technical Fouls | 1 |
| 1 | Flagrant Fouls | 0 |
| 16 | Points Conceded Off Turnovers | 17 |
| 18 | Fast Break Points | 8 |
| 62 | Points in Paint | 48 |
| 18 | Fouls | 21 |
| 4 | Largest Lead | 22 |
| 3 | Lead Changes | 3 |
| 5 | Percent Led | 90 |
Chicago Bulls Injuries
| NAME, POS | STATUS | DATE |
|---|---|---|
| Josh Giddey, G | Out | May 13 |
| Rob Dillingham, G | Out | Apr 23 |
| Isaac Okoro, F | Out | Apr 11 |
| Matas Buzelis, F | Out | Apr 11 |
| Anfernee Simons, G | Out | Apr 10 |
Houston Rockets Injuries
| NAME, POS | STATUS | DATE |
|---|---|---|
| Kevin Durant, F | Out | May 1 |
| Steven Adams, C | Out | Jan 28 |
| Fred VanVleet, G | Out | Sep 22 |
Game Information
Location: Chicago, IL
Attendance: 21,395 · Capacity:
2025-26 Southwest Standings
| TEAM | W | L | PCT | GB | STRK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 San Antonio |
62 | 20 | .756 | - | L1 |
 Houston |
52 | 30 | .634 | 10 | W1 |
 New Orleans |
26 | 56 | .317 | 36 | L2 |
 Dallas |
26 | 56 | .317 | 36 | W1 |
 Memphis |
25 | 57 | .305 | 37 | L8 |
Detroit
Cleveland
Milwaukee
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