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‘He was amazing’: Reed Sheppard stays hot as Rockets (38-22) beat Wizards

· Yahoo Sports

The Rockets finished up a three-game Eastern Conference road trip with Monday’s 123-118 victory (box score) at Washington. Houston (38-22) remains at No. 3 in the West standings, while the rebuilding Wizards (16-44) are third-to-last in the East.

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The bad news for the Rockets is that third-year guard Amen Thompson left early after rolling his right ankle. The good news is that second-year guard Reed Sheppard continued to pick up any slack.

Starting in place of injured forward Jabari Smith Jr. (right ankle sprain), Sheppard finished with 19 points, 10 assists, 7 rebounds, 6 steals, and 2 blocks while making 4-of-11 from 3-point range (36.4%).

“He was amazing,” teammate Alperen Sengun said postgame.

After a relatively inefficient January, Sheppard has bounced back in recent weeks. Over his last 10 games, the Kentucky product is shooting Sheppard is shooting 48.0% overall (64.3% true shooting) and 45.8% on 3-pointers.

That 3-point figure is on robust volume of 8.3 attempts per game.

Beyond Sheppard, other statistics of note included:

  • Thompson: 22 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals; 10-of-15 shooting (66.7%)
  • Sengun: 32 points, 13 rebounds, 8 turnovers; 12-of-20 shooting (60.0%), 8-of-11 on free throws (72.7%)
  • Kevin Durant: 30 points, 7 rebounds; 8-of-15 shooting (53.3%), 3-of-6 on 3-pointers (50.0%), 11-of-11 on free throws
  • Bilal Coulibaly (Wizards: 23 points, 2 blocks; 9-of-16 shooting (56.3%), 5-of-7 on 3-pointers (71.4%)

Between 20 turnovers for the Rockets and a 19-of-35 shooting night from the Wizards on 3-pointers (54.3%), that allowed the final margin to be kept in check. Houston made 9-of-25 from distance (36.0%), which resulted in 30 more points for Washington from distance.

On the other hand, the Rockets largely offset that 3-point disrepancy with a commanding 59-27 advantage in rebounds.

With the road trip complete, Houston now returns home for a back-to-back on Thursday and Friday versus the Golden State Warriors (31-29) and Portland Trail Blazers (29-33). The Rockets are hopeful that Smith, who missed the last two games with that ankle sprain, will make his return during those games.

Thompson’s status is not yet clear, though he was able to walk off the floor in Washington without assistance.

If both Thompson and Smith play, Rockets head coach Ime Udoka indicated Monday that Sheppard would “probably” return to his previous sixth man role. Should at least one sit out, it appears likely that Sheppard would again start.

Either way, he’s proving worthy of significant minutes for the foreseeable future.

More: Kevin Durant sees Jabari Smith Jr. as ‘X-factor’ for Rockets

This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: ‘He was amazing’: Reed Sheppard stays hot as Rockets (38-22) beat Wizards

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