Reed Sheppard Stats Tonight: How did Rockets guard fare against Chicago Bulls? (Nov. 17)
Reed Sheppard and the Houston Rockets (9-4) traveled to the Windy City on Sunday for a matchup against the Chicago Bulls (5-8). The rookie entered the court with 2:57 in the first quarter to relieve Dillon Brooks. Sheppard finished the period but had nothing to show in the box score.
The former Kentucky star started the second quarter and impacted the defensive end. He blocked Jalen Smith's layup before swatting another layup from Julian Phillips. Sheppard also grabbed one rebound but missed a close-range shot. Rockets coach Ime Udoka took him out at 8:58 in the period for Jabari Smith Jr.
Reed Sheppard re-entered the game with 6:01 in the second quarter for Amen Thompson. The combo guard didn't attempt another shot and returned to the bench after committing a foul against Zach LaVine with 2:10 remaining. Houston led, though, 68-52 at halftime.
Udoka inserted Sheppard with 2:14 left in the third period. A few plays later, he added another rebound. The rookie made his first basket late in the period. He drained a 25-footer off a kick-out pass from backup big man Jock Landale. Sheppard's triple gave the Rockets a 108-75 lead.
The No. 3 pick in this year's draft started the final frame. Sheppard continued to make his presence felt on defense with another shot block. He stuffed Talen Horton-Tucker's shot near the rim. The rookie helped close out a dominating win by the Rockets with three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter.
Reed Sheppard scores a career-high 12 points against the Chicago Bulls
Reed Sheppard's scoring surge in the fourth quarter against the Chicago Bulls gave him a new career-high. Before dropping 12 points versus Chicago, his previous career-best was seven points, which he did twice. He had seven against the New York Knicks on Nov. 4 before putting up the same output on Monday versus the Washington Wizards.
The combo guard's flurry in the rout against the Bulls was a bounce-back performance from the rookie. In Friday's game versus the LA Clippers, he had zero points after going 0-for-5, including 0-for-4 from deep.