The high of Kevin Durant’s dramatic game-winner against his former team quickly faded into a frigid shooting night in the Pacific Northwest. The Houston Rockets, riding a wave of momentum with five wins in their last six games, saw their offense freeze over against a surging Portland Trail Blazers squad, falling 103-102 on a heartbreakingly late buzzer-beater call. While Tari Eason’s last-gasp tip-in will dominate the highlights, the Rockets’ loss was cemented much earlier by a profound and persistent failure: a season-worst shooting performance that underscored the vital floor-spacing void left by injured star Alperen Şengün.
Jan 7, 2026; Portland, Oregon, USA; Houston Rockets guard Reed Sheppard (15) shoots the ball against the Portland Trail Blazers during the first half at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Jaime Valdez-Imagn Images
The numbers tell a stark story of an offense gone cold. The Rockets, who have ranked among the league’s elite in three-point shooting and scoring for most of the season, bottomed out in Portland:
Three-Point Catastrophe: Shot a dismal 8-for-36 (22.2%) from beyond the arc, their lowest percentage of the season.
Charity Stripe Struggles: Compounded their issues by going a subpar 20-of-29 (69%) from the free-throw line.
Clutch Failure: A single, telling fourth-quarter possession epitomized the struggle: the Rockets generated five consecutive scoring chances and came up empty on all of them.
This wasn’t an isolated incident. Alarmingly, the Rockets’ three worst three-point shooting games of the season have all come in the last three contests—the exact duration of Şengün’s current absence with an ankle injury.
While the pregame news that Şengün may return “sooner than initially thought” is encouraging, Wednesday’s game served as a masterclass in his irreplaceable value. The Turkish center is far more than a post scorer; he is the offensive hub and primary playmaker whose presence in the high post and on short rolls warps defenses. Without him, the Blazers’ defense could aggressively close out on Houston’s shooters without the same fear of being punished by surgical passes or rolls to the rim. The result was a steady diet of contested, off-rhythm threes.
Despite the shooting woes, the Rockets did show resilience. They mounted a second-half comeback by finally finding a defensive edge, giving themselves a chance to steal a game they had no business winning. Durant (28 points) shouldered the load offensively, but the lack of a consistent secondary scoring punch was glaring.
The schedule offers an immediate shot at redemption: a Friday rematch against the same Blazers team in Portland. The lesson is clear and urgent. To avoid a road trip spiral, Houston must either rediscover its collective shooting stroke through better ball movement and shot selection, or hope for the swift return of their All-Star center to unlock the offense. The margin for error in the packed Western Conference is too thin to survive many more nights shooting 22% from deep.
The Rockets’ loss in Portland was a harsh reminder of their offensive fragility when one key gear is missing. While Durant’s heroics can win games, sustainable success requires the system to hum, and that system is orchestrated by Alperen Şengün. As the team regroups for Friday’s rematch, the focus won’t be on the fraction of a second that denied Eason’s tip-in, but on the 36 three-point attempts that preceded it. Finding their shot is no longer just a preference; it’s a necessity.