Kevin Durant scored a game-high 29 points and drilled a critical late 3-pointer that helped the host Houston Rockets fend off the hard-charging Philadelphia 76ers 113-102 on Thursday.
The Rockets extended their winning streak to eight games but had to sweat out the final minutes. The 76ers (43-37) shaved a 28-point third-quarter deficit to 107-102 when VJ Edgecombe followed a pair of missed free throws by Durant with a short jumper with 1:36 left to play.
But Durant nailed a 3-pointer on the next possession to settle the game for the Rockets (51-29) once and for all.
Jabari Smith Jr. and Amen Thompson added 19 points apiece for Houston while Tari Eason added 15 points and eight rebounds off the bench. Alperen Sengun (12) and Josh Okogie (10) combined for 22 rebounds.
The 76ers played without Joel Embiid, who underwent an emergency appendectomy earlier on Thursday. Tyrese Maxey paced the 76ers with 23 points while Edgecombe added 21 points, six rebounds and a game-high eight assists. Andre Drummond grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds.
The 76ers have dropped five of six games.
Eason sank a 3-pointer with 2:44 remaining in the third that pushed the Rockets to a 96-68 lead. But the 76ers, behind reserve Quentin Grimes (20 points), engineered a stunning rally in the fourth, starting with a 16-0 run that included the Rockets going scoreless for over five minutes.
After turning a 9-0 spurt into a 17-10 lead, Houston added a 13-3 blitz capped by a Thompson dunk that pushed the margin to 33-20. The 76ers committed three turnovers during the second Houston run and had six total in the opening period that the Rockets converted into 12 points.
The Rockets entered the second with a 35-26 advantage and continued to extend that margin. Reed Sheppard sandwiched a pair of 3-pointers around a Durant field goal that lifted Houston to a 65-47 lead with 3:47 left in the half, and the Rockets opened a 23-point cushion before Maxey caught fire.
Maxey, held scoreless in the first quarter, tallied 15 points in the second, including the final eight for the 76ers in the half. His consecutive 3s down the stretch cut the deficit to 73-56 at halftime.
