On Tuesday, the Houston Rockets tipped off the 2025-26 NBA regular season with a road visit against the reigning NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Thunder held a ring ceremony to celebrate their victory in the 2025 NBA Finals before the opening tip, but the Rockets hoped to play spoiler. In a gritty, dramatic and controversial double overtime game, the Rockets came up just short, falling 125-124.

19th year man Kevin Durant led Houston in scoring at halftime, tallying 14 points in his first half as a Rocket. Despite KD’s hot start, Alperen Sengun led the way out of the locker room, finishing with 29 points in the second half and overtime and 39 in total.

Both teams appeared to be dealing with some offseason rust and struggling to find shooting rhythm in the opener, particularly fro

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