The [Houston Rockets](https://www.thedreamshake.com) have now begun their NBA 2K26 Summer League campaign as they faced off against the Los Angeles Clippers. The big story heading into this one for the Rockets was quite easy: Reed Sheppard. The 2024 third overall pick for Houston was set for his second straight SL appearance, and after what we saw from him last year, the expectations were high. To be quite honest though, Reed played well, but not excellent. However, in a game that turned out to be a nail biter, his performance wasn’t the main thing that had caught my eye at the final sound of the buzzer. More on that later, but for now, let’s get into what this game had been.
First quarters have typically seemed to be the slowest for the Rockets year after year, and tonight proved no different, even for a Summer League squad. Shooting a mere 5-19 from the field and 1-7 from three, it looked as if it were going to be a long night early on. Kobe Brown for LA had a quick ten piece whereas for Houston, Reed and Nate Williams were a combined nine points on 3-12 from the floor. But, being as I was there live to see, from the words of a Rockets assistant himself, Sheppard was tired. Playing the entire first quarter, he slowly started to play a little lazier as the quarter went on, and it showed on the stat sheet. A poor start for Houston gave them a 21-16 deficit after one, but surely in the second they’d bounce back in traditional Rockets fashion, right?
Well, not exactly. In the first quarter they at least prevented the Clippers from hitting a ton of shots, but not in the second. In a high scoring quarter, Houston allowed LA to shoot 10-18 from the floor and score 27 points. Simply not ideal considering Houston was struggling all half offensively. But, there is one thing that stood out the entire second quarter. Kennedy Chandler. When he checked into the game, the Rockets assistant to my left told me to watch for Chandler, so I did, and man did he not disappoint. Bringing the energy Houston needed off the bench, Kennedy and Reed quickly developed a solid chemistry, combining for 17 of Houston’s 26 in the quarter. A 13-4 run by the Rockets had given them a 42-40 lead with 1:50 left in the quarter, but an 8-0 run by LA to end the half put Houston down six at the break.
The third quarter was more like when the Rockets flipped the switch if you will. Or well, more like when Reed Sheppard went nuclear. Starting off as a slow quarter, it was at the 1:18 mark when the entire game changed momentum. Dribbling the ball, Reed took a 26 foot sidestep contested three, and drained it. Down 12 at the time, Houston needed some threes to start falling, and Sheppard was their answer. The next possession, Reed came down the court and pulled an absolute heater of a 32 foot bomb…and swished it again. Wow. At this point, the entire gym was standing when Reed grabbed the rebound and came down the court with :30 seconds left in the quarter. Eighteen seconds later, he hit a 27 foot step back three to cap off the quarter and finish his personal 9-0 run in just a minute. Going for 13 in the third, entering the fourth quarter, Sheppard stood with 28 points as well as four steals and three blocks. 73-70, Clippers.
Take a deep breath in, now breath out. That was what the fourth quarter reminded me of for Houston. Starting off with a shot clock violation, it was then a small scuffle, and then a few missed shots. Not the start you wanted to see for the Rockets, but it was then back to Kennedy Chandler leading the way. A steal, a layup, an assist, a float, he was doing it all. All wasn’t enough though, as LA just wouldn’t miss a shot. Finding themselves down 10 with three minutes to go, Houston then went on an 11-3 run to make it a two point game with five seconds to go. Leading the way was Chandler, as Sheppard exited the game momentarily following a kick to the shin. Fouling Zavier Simpson with only a few seconds left on the clock, he missed the first then made the second, keeping it at a one possession game for the Rockets, and a chance to send the game to OT. They couldn’t get the pass inbounds, five second violation. Just a killer TO, game over, right? No, because Houston then forced a TO by LA on the inbounds pass which led to a foul and two free throws for Chandler. He missed the first which meant he now needed to intentionally miss the second and get a three off. Miss it he did, but come up with the rebound he couldn’t, and Houston lost the game 95-92.
There’s good losses, and there’s bad losses, but for this game, I’d say it was a decent loss. There were guys who played well such as Reed, then there were guys who played surprisingly really well like Kennedy Chandler, and then there was Nate Williams who scored eight points, had five turnovers, and shot 4-15 from the floor in 31 minutes of play. Not ideal. All things considered though, the game was a fun one and it was nice seeing Houston back on the court, even for Summer League. A couple of players were in attendance to support, as well as Rafael Stone and Ime Udoka, which is always good to see. So, even in the loss, the Rockets still kept it down to the final play, they just got unlucky.
The next game for the Rockets will be Sunday at 3:00 CT against the [Detroit Pistons](https://www.detroitbadboys.com) on ESPN2.