Amen Thompson made a game-winning floater with 1.3 seconds remaining to polish off a career night, lifting the visiting Houston Rockets to a 114-112 victory over the short-handed Boston Celtics on Monday night.
The bucket in the lane gave Thompson a career-high 33 points. He also finished with nine rebounds and four assists to help Houston get a win in coach Ime Udoka’s return to Boston, where he was at the helm during the 2021-22 season.
Payton Pritchard had one last chance to win the game for the Celtics, but his full-court heave at the buzzer only found the top of the backboard.
Dillon Brooks drilled a career-high 10 3-pointers en route to a game-high 36 points for the Rockets, who won despite once trailing by 12 points in the fourth quarter. Jalen Green added 12 points, and Alperen Sengun finished with 11 points, nine assists and nine rebounds.
Jaylen Brown led Boston with 28 points. The Celtics received 19 points from Jayson Tatum, who did all of his scoring in the second half. Luke Kornet finished with 18 points and seven rebounds, Kristaps Porzingis put up 17 points and Pritchard made five 3-pointers while adding 15 points.
Tatum, who entered the contest averaging a team-high 27.1 points per game, was 0-for-5 from the field in the first two quarters. He tied the game at 112 by sinking a layup with 5.3 seconds left before Thompson’s heroics.
The Celtics played without two of their top 3-point shooters, as Derrick White (shin contusion) and Sam Hauser (hip impingement) were both ruled out with injuries. In addition, Al Horford (toe) was scratched minutes before the opening tip.
Houston used a 14-0 run to take a 29-22 lead with 1:15 remaining in the opening quarter and had a 31-27 edge after 12 minutes of play. The Rockets extended their lead to 50-39 on a Fred VanVleet 3-pointer with 4:12 left in the first half, but Boston was within two points, 54-52, at intermission.
Boston went up 87-85 after Tatum made three free throws with 38.8 seconds left in the third quarter and had an 89-85 lead entering the fourth. The Celtics’ advantage swelled to 12 points with 8:38 to play, but Houston scored the next 13 to take the lead with 5:23 left.
–Field Level Media
