HOUSTON — In an intense battle between the Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs, the smallest player on the floor made perhaps the biggest defensive play of the night.
As Kevin Durant and Victor Wembanyama were the biggest stars in the building, Julian Champagnie had drilled six 3-pointers before halftime and scored a game-high 27 points through the first three quarters for the Spurs. So when the ball hit Champagnie’s hands with the game tied at 104 and 2:10 remaining, Reed Sheppard, at 6-foot-2, recovered to the 6-foot-7 Champagnie in the corner and jumped just high enough to get his fingertips on the ball for the block.
Reed Sheppard closeout block. pic.twitter.com/Ig6KS0p5p5
— Rockets Clips (@Rockets_Clips) January 21, 2026
Sheppard’s impressive play put an exclamation point on his personal fourth-quarter masterpiece, which helped fuel a 16-point comeback in the Rockets’ 111-106 victory. Along with his game-changing block, Sheppard added a team-high 12 points in the final quarter, his activity on both ends shifting the tenor of the game.
Considering the opponent and how much ground they had to make up in the second half, this was one of the Rockets’ most impressive wins of the season.
“(The effort) was contagious with our group in general. You don’t want to be the weak link out there,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said. “(Sheppard) made a bunch of big plays. Had some tipped balls that we almost got, but he disrupted their offense. He took on the challenge of whoever we had him on.”
The Rockets ended a crucial five-game homestand with a 4-1 record. They went from flirting with the Play-In Tournament to being 2 1/2 games behind San Antonio — still with three less games played than the Spurs — for the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference.
The importance of this win went well beyond its impact on the standings. The Rockets had been playing their worst basketball of the season, coming off three consecutive losses during a frustrating West Coast trip. Houston couldn’t make a shot from the perimeter, the connectivity on defense was slipping, and the struggles to execute late in games were routinely turning winnable games into losses.
However, all four wins during this homestand came by single digits, and there was a clear re-emphasis on the physicality and unselfishness the team hopes to make the driving force behind everything it does.
Wins like Tuesday’s show the Rockets are capable of climbing the standings without relying on Durant or Alperen Şengün to drag them across the finish line, especially against top-tier competition.
“We don’t want to beat around the bush. … We’ve been struggling against top teams in the league,” Durant said. “But to come out and beat a team that’s expected to be there at the end of the season, that’s going to be a championship-contending team, especially when we’ve been struggling a bit, it’s one of those wins.
“Obviously, you don’t want to get too excited in the regular season, but you don’t want to undercut what we’re doing in the regular season. … We want to celebrate more stuff like this.”
Anytime that Sheppard, who finished with 21 points and four assists, has an offensive explosion, it’s a reason for Houston to celebrate. The Rockets have been talking all season about how much the second-year guard’s shot making and secondary ballhandling will be pivotal to their success.
But it wasn’t just Sheppard making big plays late. Jabari Smith Jr. scored seven of his 17 points in the fourth quarter, and he drilled a massive 18-footer with 1:47 remaining following Sheppard’s block to put Houston up for good.
Sheppard and Smith combined to score 19 of Houston’s 29 points in the fourth quarter, while no one else on the roster scored more than two points in the final period.
Several of the Rockets’ losses earlier this season came after teams went out of their way to take the ball out of Durant’s hands and force the other players on the floor to make shots. San Antonio was trying to go with that same strategy, keeping forward Keldon Johnson attached to Durant from the moment he crossed half court.
But this time around, Sheppard and Smith weren’t hesitant or jittery once it became clear Durant wasn’t going to save the day. Instead, they used all the extra attention Durant was drawing and attacked the open space to get shots for themselves.
If Houston is going to advance through a treacherous playoff field in the West, players like Sheppard and Smith have to step into the spotlight when their moment arrives. As great as Durant and Şengün have been all season, teams that advance far in the playoffs conjure up critical performances from complementary players when most needed.
After Tuesday’s win, Durant pointed out multiple times how happy he was to see five players in Houston’s rotation take at least 12 field-goal attempts. That balance will be key to loosening up defenses that try to collapse on him and Şengün.
“They turn us into a different team when they play that aggressively and knock down shots,” Durant said of Sheppard and Smith. “I thought they did a great job. … Guys came in, and they were aggressive. That’s what we’re going to need moving forward.”
Some of Houston’s reserves will be pushed to make an even bigger impact in the coming weeks as the team adjusts to life without veteran center Steven Adams, who suffered a Grade 3 ankle sprain in Sunday’s win over the New Orleans Pelicans. Udoka said Adams will be sidelined indefinitely, but with a sprain that severe, the timetable for return is usually closer to months rather than weeks.
Adams’ offensive rebounding has been one of this team’s biggest weapons all year, and his absence will force the Rockets to find ways to win games other than beating opponents up under the basket. Udoka will have to lean more on the versatility of wing players such as Smith, Durant, Tari Eason and Dorian Finney-Smith.
Udoka tried out lineups with Smith, Eason, Finney-Smith and no true center on the floor against the Spurs. Some of that was to throw different looks at Wembanyama, whom Houston held to a 5-of-21 shooting night. Until Adams returns, Udoka may need to be more creative with his lineups.
The more he builds up the confidence of these complementary players, the more dangerous Houston can be heading into the postseason.
“You saw the defensive intensity in the second half with those guys,” Udoka said. “We’ll get to more of the small-ball now with the injuries and stuff. … Once they’re healthy and in rhythm and they get their timing back, I think you can see a lot more of those lineups.”