Overview
- Houston improved to 10-3 with a fifth straight victory, building a 22-point lead before closing out a late Cleveland rally.
- Alperen Sengun produced 28 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists, punctuating the win with key late buckets.
- Aaron Holiday scored 14 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter to blunt Donovan Mitchell’s push.
- The Rockets grabbed 19 offensive rebounds for a 21-6 second-chance points edge that defined the possession battle.
- Shorthanded Cleveland went 20-for-32 at the free-throw line and fell to 10-6, as coach Kenny Atkinson called Houston a contender postgame.