Rockets blow another big fourth-quarter lead in loss to Knicks
· Yahoo Sports
Another game, another epic fourth-quarter collapse.
In Houston's 108-106 loss to the Knicks on Saturday, the Rockets blew an 18-point lead in the final frame. It was the latest example of how Houston has struggled to close out games, a weakness that has prevented the Rockets from fully reaching contender status this season, on top of season-ending injuries to Fred VanVleet and Steven Adams.
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It was Houston's 11th blown fourth-quarter lead of the season under head coach Ime Udoka. Since Udoka was first hired by the Rockets in April 2023, Houston has now blown 37 fourth-quarter leads. With the Rockets struggling to protect their fourth-quarter leads, it could prevent Houston from making a deep playoff run.
Blown leads under Udoka
Udoka: "Ball stopped moving, started isolating too much. Same story — we've lost too many games like this. I'm telling Amen and Reed to be more demonstrative and get us into our sets, it's not time to freestyle. Turnovers hurt, but bad offense is just as bad." https://t.co/7PA94u8eZj
— Kelly Iko (@KellyIko) February 22, 2026
When asked about his team's latest collapse, Udoka attributed it to the Rockets "isolating too much" because the "ball stopped moving," per NBA insider Kelly Iko. Houston's head coach also said that he wants Amen Thompson and Reed Sheppard to be "more demonstrative getting into" its offensive sets.
While the Rockets certainly struggled on offense down the stretch, Udoka has a proven track record of failing to close out games as a head coach. In his first year as a head coach, Udoka took the Celtics to the NBA Finals, but they struggled with offensive consistency. The Celtics blew 18 fourth-quarter leads under Udoka, with Boston's late-game offense leaving much to be desired.
Now in his third year with the Rockets, the late-game offense under Udoka is still an issue. After blowing 26 fourth-quarter leads in Udoka's first two seasons, Houston's latest collapse against the Knicks is the latest example that the Rockets haven't made any progress in that area.
Houston's 11 blown leads this season are tied for the 10th most in the NBA, with the Rockets comfortably leading for the majority of those losses. On Dec. 18, Houston led by as many as 25 points in the third quarter and 17 in the fourth quarter of its eventual overtime loss to the Pelicans, which were 6-22 at the time. That loss remains the biggest blown lead in the NBA this season.
There's no doubting Udoka's reputation as a floor-raiser, but considering Houston's expectations this season, the Rockets have underperformed. It's not all on their head coach, but Houston's consistent inability to protect its leads on top of its current injury problems could easily doom the Rockets to an early exit in the playoffs, where the smallest margins matter.
This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: Rockets blow 11th fourth-quarter lead of season in loss to Knicks