Rockets notes after beating Magic 117-113 in OT

With the win tonight, the Rockets have won four in a row against the Magic after losing four straight prior from 2/25/22-10/25/23. Houston has won each of its past four games while Orlando has its three-game winning streak snapped.

The Rockets won by four points in overtime. Houston lost in double-overtime in the season opener at Oklahoma City on 10/21. The Rockets only played four overtime games in 2024-25 (3-1 mark). Tonight marked Houston’s first win of the season by fewer than seven points.

Houston held Orlando to 41.8% shooting, including 32.4% from 3-point range. Since the start of last season, the Rockets are 35-7 when holding opponents below 45.0% shooting and 31-8 when the opposition shoots 33.3% or worse from behind-the-arc.

The Rockets outrebounded the Magic by 22. Houston has outrebounded its opponent by 20+ boards in two of the past four games and three times overall this season. The Rockets have 149 more rebounds than the opposition this season. Dating back to 1975-76, no other team had a differential better than 137 boards through the first 12 games of a season.

Houston shot 25-of-29 (86.2%) from the foul line.

The Rockets have recorded 25+ FTA while shooting 85.0% or better three times this season after doing so three times in 2024-25.

Four different Rockets grabbed 10+ rebounds (Alperen Sengun w/13; Steven Adams w/12; Jabari Smith Jr. w/10; Amen Thompson w/10) while no Magic player had more than 6 boards. The last time Houston had four players grab 10+ boards in a single game was vs. Indiana on 3/13/01 (Kelvin Cato, Steve Francis, Cuttino Mobley, Maurice Taylor).

Kevin Durant had 35 points while Alperen Sengun scored 30. The Rockets had two players score 30+ points in the same game three times last season.
Alperen Sengun had 30 points, 13 rebounds and 8 assists. It is his second 30-point game of the season and his eighth double-double, seven of which have come over the past eight games. Sengun has recorded at least 16 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists in all 12 games this season. Dating back to 1975-76, no other player had a streak longer than seven games doing so to start a season.

Kevin Durant 35 points on 13-of-24 shooting. He had fewer than 20 FGA in each of the first 11 games of the season, which was the third-longest streak of his career. Durant has scored 30+ points in three of the past four games after doing so twice prior this season. No other Rocket scored 30+ points more than three times over the first 12 games of a season since James Harden did so nine times in 2019-20.

Reed Sheppard led all reserves with 16 points off the bench and he grabbed a career-high tying 7 rebounds. Over the past six games, he is averaging 15.7 ppg in 25.3 mpg while shooting 59.0% from the floor. Sheppard also had a steal without committing a turnover tonight. He has 19 steals with 15 turnovers overall this season.

Franz Wagner led Orlando with 29 points. He has scored 25+ points in each of the past three games, which is tied for the second-longest streak of his career (4 games from 11/12-11/18/24). Wagner shot 10-of-13 from the foul line tonight and has recorded 10+ FTA in three of the past five games after doing so once prior this season and six times in 2024-25.

Kings sign Precious Achiuwa

The Sacramento Kings recently signed forward Precious Achiuwa.

In a related move, Sacramento has waived forward Isaac Jones.

Achiuwa (6-8, 243) has appeared in 320 career NBA games (72 starts), accruing averages of 7.6 points (48.4 FG%) and 5.7 rebounds in 20.0 minutes per game with Miami (2020-21), Toronto (2021-24) and New York (2023-25). He has played in 26 career postseason games, averaging 5.0 points (48.7 FG%) and 3.2 rebounds in 15.3 minutes per game with the Heat, Raptors and Knicks. Originally selected 20th overall in the 2020 NBA Draft by the Miami Heat, Achiuwa was selected to the NBA Rising Stars during both his rookie and sophomore seasons (2021, 2022).

Blazers sign Shaedon Sharpe to contract extension

The Portland Trail Blazers recently signed guard Shaedon Sharpe to a multi-year contract extension, it was announced by General Manager Joe Cronin.

“Shaedon Sharpe is one of the most exciting young players in the NBA,” said Cronin. “With his ability to score the basketball, play make and be a great teammate, we are ecstatic that Shaedon will be an electric part of the Trail Blazers for years to come.”

Sharpe is coming off his third and most productive NBA season in 2024-25—appearing in 72 games (52 starts) and averaging a career-high 18.5 points (45.2% FG, 31.1% 3PT, 78.5% FT) along with 4.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 0.9 steals in 31.3 minutes per game.

The London, Ontario native, who turned 22 after the conclusion of the 2024-25 season, recorded 50 career games of 20 or more points before his 22nd birthday—30 more such games before turning 22 than any other player in Trail Blazers team history.

Pacers sign Aaron Nesmith to contract extension

The Indiana Pacers recently signed forward Aaron Nesmith to a multi-year contract extension.

“Aaron Nesmith embodies our team’s selfless, fast-paced style of play while also playing a key role in defining our culture, all of which is a testament to his talent, dedication, and commitment to this organization and our fans,” said Pacers President of Basketball Operations Kevin Pritchard. “We look forward to Aaron’s continued growth and contributions to both our team and our community, and we’re proud to have reached an agreement that will keep him here in Indiana.”

Blazers exercise contract options on three players

The Portland Trail Blazers recently exercised the 2026-27 team option on the Rookie Scale contracts of guard Scoot Henderson, forward Kris Murray, and center Donovan Clingan, it was announced by General Manager Joe Cronin.

Henderson, selected No. 3 overall in the 2023 NBA Draft by the Trail Blazers, appeared in 66 games (10 starts) during his second NBA season in 2024-25—averaging 12.7 points (41.9% FG, 35.4% 3FG, 76.7% FT), 5.1 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.0 steal in 26.7 minutes per game.

Among NBA second-year players who played at least 40 games, Henderson finished the season second in assists per game (5.1), fifth in points per game (12.7), ninth in steals per game (1.0) and seventh in 3-point percentage (.354) (min. 3.0 3PA per game).

A 2025 Castrol NBA Rising Star selection, Henderson was particularly effective during the second half of the season, averaging 14.2 points and 5.2 assists per game on 43.4% FG and 38.4% 3FG over his final 35 games (Jan. 14 through the end of the season).

The No. 23 selection in the 2023 NBA Draft, Murray appeared in 69 games (six starts) for the Trail Blazers, averaging 4.2 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.0 assist in 15.1 minutes per game during his second season in Portland. Murray compiled eight double-figure scoring games and eight multi-steal games during his sophomore NBA season.

A 2024-25 NBA All-Rookie Second Team selection, Clingan is coming off a rookie season in which he appeared in 67 games (37 starts), averaging 6.5 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in 19.8 minutes per game on 53.9% shooting from the field.

The No. 7 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, Clingan stood out on the defensive end of the floor for Portland during his first professional season. Among qualifying players, Clingan led the entire NBA in contested shots per 36 minutes (17.6) and ranked fifth in blocked shots per game (1.6).

Grizzlies exercise contract option on Zach Edey

The Memphis Grizzlies recently exercised its 2026-27 rookie scale contract option on center Zach Edey.

Edey (7-3 ¾, 299), who was selected by the Grizzlies with the ninth overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, led rookies in field goal percentage (58.0), rebounds (8.3) and offensive rebounds (3.5) last season while placing fourth in blocks (1.3), ninth in points (9.2) and second in overall plus-minus (+164) in 21.5 minutes over 66 games (55 starts). The 23-year-old became the first rookie to lead the Grizzlies in rebounding over the course of a season since Marc Gasol during the 2008-09 season.

The Toronto native, who finished fifth in the league’s Rookie of the Year voting, paced the NBA in April 2025 by corralling 15.7 rebounds per game in six contests. His career-high 21 rebounds on April 5 at Detroit eclipsed a 29-year-old single-game franchise rookie record and stood as the most rebounds grabbed by any rookie in a game last season.

Nets exercise contract option on Noah Clowney

The Brooklyn Nets recently exercised the 2026-27 team option on the contract of forward/center Noah Clowney.

Clowney appeared in 46 games (20 starts) during the 2024-25 season, averaging 9.1 points and 3.9 rebounds in 22.7 minutes per game. He finished his second NBA season with 99 career 3-pointers made, marking the ninth-most by a Net through two NBA seasons and the most for a Net prior to turning 21 years old all-time. Throughout his sophomore campaign, Clowney tallied double-digit points in 21 games, including a career-high 29 points to go with six rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals in 37 minutes against Detroit on Jan. 8.