KEVIN Durant delivered 29 points as Houston Rockets stretched their winning streak to eight games with a 113-102 victory over Philadelphia 76ers in the 2025-26 NBA Regular Season on Thursday night (Friday in the Philippines) at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.
Houston capitalized on the absence of 76ers center Joel Embiid, who underwent an emergency appendectomy earlier in the day and is sidelined indefinitely. The loss dealt a blow to Philadelphia’s playoff push in the Eastern Conference.
Jabari Smith Jr. and Amen Thompson added 19 points apiece for the Rockets, who have already secured a postseason berth and are now battling Denver Nuggets and the Los Angeles Lakers for playoff positioning in the Western Conference.
The Rockets appeared in full control after building a 23-point lead entering the fourth quarter, 96-73. However, the 76ers mounted a late rally, unleashing a 16-0 run to trim the deficit to 101-94 with five minutes remaining.
Durant halted Houston’s scoring drought of nearly five minutes with a timely three-pointer, sparking a decisive response. Aaron Holiday followed with another triple to restore a double-digit cushion, 107-94, with four minutes left.
Tyrese Maxey led the 76ers with 23 points, while VJ Edgecombe chipped in 21. Philadelphia absorbed its third straight loss and fell into a tie with Charlotte for eighth place in the East.
Over at New York, Josh Hart scored 15 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter, Jalen Brunson had 25 points and 10 assists, and the Knicks stayed alive in the race for the No. 2 seed in the East with a 112-106 victory over Boston Celtics.
Jayson Tatum finished with 24 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists for Boston in his first game back on the Madison Square Garden court where he ruptured his Achilles tendon in last season’s playoffs.
The Knicks (52-28) pulled within two games of the Celtics (54-26) for second place with two games to play for both teams. New York owns the tiebreaker after winning the season series 3-1 and would take the No. 2 seed with two wins and two Boston losses.
In other results, Toronto Raptors prevailed over Miami Heat, 128-114; Indiana Pacers walloped Brooklyn Nets, 123-94; and Chicago Bulls defeated Washington Wizards, 119-108./PN
