Reed Sheppard stats tonight: How did Rockets rookie fare against Thunder?
Reed Sheppard and the Houston Rockets took on the OKC Thunder on Sunday night. It was a battle between the top two teams in the Western Conference. The Rockets were on a two-game winning streak while the Thunder had a four-game winning streak.
Looking at Sheppard's last outing against the Philadelphia 76ers, the rookie only clocked in six minutes in that game. He contributed one assist and one steal with the time he was given to play.
Going up against the Thunder, it seemed like the Rockets rookie was set to go scoreless once again. In the opening period, Reed Sheppard played a little over two minutes but didn't contribute anything. However, come the second quarter, he finally got on the scoreboard for the first time since Houston's game against the Portland Trail Blazers last November 23.
Sheppard knocked down a corner three at the start of the second period. However, the rookie was benched for the majority of the quarter after hitting his shot. Carrying Houston was Fred VanVleet, who scored 15 first-half points. The Rockets secured a narrow lead with a 62-60 first-half finish.
Come the second half of the game, Reed Sheppard barely played as he was only given four minutes to run the court in the third quarter. He added two more points to his total score after hitting a couple of foul shots.
Ultimately, the Houston Rockets came out on top with a 119-116 finish. The trio of Fred VanVleet, Alperent Sengun and Jabari Smith Jr. came up clutch against the top team in the Western Conference.
Rockets vs Thunder recap: Fred VanVleet explodes for 38 points to beat OKC
The Houston Rockets hosted the OKC Thunder on Sunday night. It was a battle between the top two teams in the Western Conference. It was interesting to see if an All-Starless Rockets could beat Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and his Thunder. Ultimately, Houston came up with a big nail-biting 119-116 win over OKC.
Fred VanVleet played a prominent role in the Rockets’ victory on Sunday. He scored 38 points and shot efficiently from the field with 55.6% accuracy from beyond the arc and 52.6% accuracy overall. Helping VanVleet take care of business were Alperen Sengun and Jabari Smith Jr., who both notched double-double performances.
Sengun added 20 points and 14 rebounds. The big man nearly notched a triple-double thanks to his nine assists. As for Smith Jr., he added 15 points and 14 rebounds. He also played solid defense, swatting three of OKC’s shots.
As for the rookie Reed Sheppard, he finally got back on the scoreboard after going scoreless in his last couple of games. Sheppard clocked in nearly 10 minutes and scored five points in the process.