Indiana Pacers @ Houston Rockets
Monday, December 29, 2025 at 8:00 PM ET
Toyota Center, Houston, TX | Game ID: 22500453
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
HOU 30 36 39 21 126IND 25 23 30 41 119
ESPN UpdateESPN Update
Kevin Durant's 30 points power Rockets to 126-119 win over Pacers
HOUSTON -- — Kevin Durant scored 30 points to lead the Houston Rockets to a 126-119 win over the Indiana Pacers on Monday night.
It’s the second straight 30-point game for Durant and his 10th this season, his first in Houston since a blockbuster summer trade from Phoenix.
Jabari Smith Jr. had 21 points with 10 rebounds and Amen Thompson added 20 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Rockets, who have won three in a row after dropping four of their previous five games during a tough road trip.
It’s the ninth consecutive loss for the Pacers, who have the NBA’s worst record at 6-27 with Tyrese Haliburton out all season with an Achilles injury.
The Rockets led by 27 to start the fourth and were up by 16 when coach Ime Udoka cleared the bench with 2 1/2 minutes to go.
Pascal Siakam had 23 points to lead the Pacers and Aaron Nesmith added 14 with four 3-pointers.
The Rockets led by 16 at halftime and used a 12-3 spurt after the break to push the lead to 78-51 with about 10 minutes left in the third quarter. Smith had two 3-pointers in that stretch and Durant added four points.
Houston remained up by 27 midway through the third before the Pacers went on a 14-2 run to get within 89-74 with about four minutes remaining in the quarter. Siakam scored six points in that time and Bennedict Mathurin and Andrew Nembhard capped the run with 3s.
The Rockets rediscovered their offense after that, using a 16-4 run, with 3-pointers from Reed Sheppard and Dorian Finney-Smith , to take a 105-78 lead into the fourth quarter.
Houston’s Steven Adams had eight points and five rebounds in his second straight start for All-Star Alperen Sengun , who is out with calf tightness. Adams left in the third quarter with a sprained right ankle and didn’t return.
IND KarmaHide StintsShow StintsHide PMShow PMHide KarmaShow KarmaHide ScoresShow Scores
Who
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
INDAN A. Nembhard
AN A. Nesmith
BM B. Mathurin
ET E. Thompson
JF J. Furphy
JH J. Huff
JW J. Walker
KJ K. Jones
MP M. Potter
PS P. Siakam
QJ Q. Jackson
TB T. Bradley
TM T. McConnell
TP T. Peter
HOUAH A. Holiday
AT A. Thompson
CC C. Capela
DF D. Finney-Smith
JD J. Davison
JG J. Green
JO J. Okogie
JS J. Smith Jr.
JT J. Tate
KD K. Durant
RS R. Sheppard
SA S. Adams
TE T. Eason
IND/HOU the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur