Kevin Durant had 25 points and 10 assists, while Jabari Smith Jr. added 21 points and a season-high 16 rebounds to lead the visiting Houston Rockets to a 119-109 victory Friday night over the Memphis Grizzlies. Houston (44-29) snapped a two-game losing streak.
Amen Thompson contributed 18 points and eight boards and Tari Eason finished with 16 points and seven rebounds off the bench for the Rockets, who are in sixth place in the Western Conference standings and hold a four-game edge over Phoenix for the final guaranteed playoff spot.
Memphis (24-49) got a career-high 31 points from Olivier-Maxence Prosper, who was 12-of-15 shooting including 4-of-5 from long range. He also had seven rebounds and two steals. GG Jackson and Javon Small added 14 points apiece for the Grizzlies, who lost their fifth straight and for the 13th time in their last 14 games.
Houston never trailed in the final three quarters. Memphis got as close as three points (96-93) early in the fourth quarter following a DeJon Jarreau floater in the lane. But the Rockets pulled away behind Smith, who scored nine points in the final period.
With the victory, Houston evened its road record at 19-19.
Durant scored 11 points in the third quarter to allow the Rockets to maintain the lead. The Grizzlies trimmed the Rockets’ lead to two points with 9:49 to go in the quarter following a three-point play by Prosper. But Houston answered and went up by 11 with 1:28 to go after a Thompson dunk. Prosper scored 15 points in the quarter.
The Rockets used a 14-2 run late in the first quarter to grab a 28-22 advantage and didn’t trail the remainder of the half. Houston led 56-49 at halftime.
The Grizzlies played without Ty Jerome (left ankle) and Jaylen Wells (right toe). Star guard Ja Morant is out for the remainder of the season because of an injury, as are Zach Edey, Scotty Pippen Jr., Santi Aldama, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Brandon Clarke.
