Ime Udoka’s Rockets play without VanVleet, Adams and Smart on a pre-dawn back-to-back, start Reed Sheppard and still reach 3-0

The Houston Rockets are 3-0 for the first time since the 2017-18 season, and Ime Udoka got there on Saturday with a reshuffled lineup and a team that had barely slept. Houston beat the Atlanta Hawks 121-114 at State Farm Arena less than 24 hours after its late win over the San Antonio Spurs in Austin, with three regulars out and a guard who had sat the previous night in the starting five.

“Activity was great on a tough back-to-back,” Udoka said afterward, as the Houston Chronicle reported, and he called the defense great overall even after a loose finish.

Game Center: Rockets at Hawks, box score and play-by-play

A planned rest night that became a short-handed one

The Rockets had decided in advance that Fred VanVleet and Steven Adams would not play the second night of the back-to-back as part of their injury management. Marcus Smart was then ruled out with a left forearm strain, which left Udoka without his two most experienced guards. According to the Chronicle, the team flew east after the Friday game in Austin and did not reach its Atlanta hotel until around 4 or 5 a.m., losing an hour to the time change on top of it.

Udoka’s answer was Reed Sheppard, who sat out Friday in Austin because of his knee and carried a questionable tag into the day. Sheppard started and played 30 minutes, scoring 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting with five threes, seven assists, six rebounds and two steals. He finished plus-19, tied with Kevin Durant for the best mark on the team. Amen Thompson said the group had agreed before tipoff to treat the travel as no excuse.

How the rotation held up

Udoka leaned on his starters. Thompson played a team-high 39 minutes as the de facto lead guard and posted 17 points, 11 rebounds and five assists while making all nine free throws. Durant scored 22 in 36 minutes, Alperen Sengun added 17 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, and Jabari Smith Jr. logged 33 minutes. Off the bench, Tari Eason scored 19 in 30 minutes and Bogdan Bogdanovic hit three threes for 11, while Clint Capela covered Adams’ minutes in 11 minutes of his own.

Houston led for 42 minutes and seven seconds, built a 20-point lead and was still up 15 with 3:10 left. The last stretch was messier: turnovers let the Hawks get within five in the final minute before the Hawks missed their final looks. Houston made 21 of 23 free throws and held Atlanta to 13-of-48 from three, which offset Jalen Johnson’s 26 points and 16 assists.

What comes next

The two teams meet again right away. The Hawks visit Houston on Monday, October 26, at 8:30 p.m. ET, with a full day off in between and no word yet on whether VanVleet and Adams return. Game Center: Hawks at Rockets.