The Aporia · Durant scores 22, Sheppard hits five 3-pointers to lead Rockets to a win in Atlanta's home opener

Durant scores 22, Sheppard hits five 3-pointers to lead Rockets to a win in Atlanta's home opener

Read the original at Toronto Star ↗

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Cole, A. (2026, October 25). Durant scores 22, Sheppard hits five 3-pointers to lead Rockets to a win in Atlanta's home opener. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/sports/basketball/durant-scores-22-sheppard-hits-five-3-pointers-to-lead-rockets-to-a-win-in-atlanta-s-home-opener/article_2eb8a971-fe46-503f-ae66-e97b3ede2160.html

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

Quick Summary

In Atlanta’s home opener, the Houston Rockets defeated the Atlanta Hawks 121-114 with Kevin Durant leading the way by scoring 22 points. Reed Sheppard contributed significantly by hitting five three-pointers and Tari Eason added 19 points as seven Rockets scored in double figures. Despite a late-game push by the Hawks, who had Jalen Johnson score 26 points and tie his career-high with 16 assists, Houston secured their first 3-0 start since 2017-18.

Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-25, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

In their home opener on October 25, 2026, the Atlanta Hawks lost to the visiting Houston Rockets with a final score of 114-121. Kevin Durant led the Rockets with 22 points, while Reed Sheppard and Tari Eason each scored 19 points; Sheppard hit five 3-pointers. The Rockets also benefited from strong contributions off the bench, including Amen Thompson's third consecutive double-double (17 points and 11 rebounds) and Alperen Sengun’s double-double as well. Despite a late-game push by the Hawks, Durant secured the win with two crucial free throws in the final seconds. Jalen Johnson had a standout game for Atlanta with 26 points and tying his career-high of 16 assists. The Rockets' victory marked their first 3-0 start since the 2017-18 season and was fueled by an impressive performance on offensive rebounds, leading to 22 second-chance points.

Written for “Rockets Win In Atlanta's Home Opener” on 2026-10-25, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Why this leaning score

This article does not take a side on a contested political question, so it has no leaning score. That is an answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political position.

No political leaning scored for article 105203 · logged 2026-10-25

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0 of 10 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

not political

takes no side on a contested political question

Publisher signals

64/100

Toronto Star's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

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Who wrote this

Alan Cole

10 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction

🔮 The Rockets and Hawks will play the second half of their home-and-home Monday in Houston.

2026-10-25 · assertive framing · Durant scores 22, Sheppard hits five 3-pointers to lead Rockets to a win in Atlanta's home opener

🔮 The Hawks were set to welcome the Houston Rockets at 8:30 p.m. for their home opener.

2026-10-24 · assertive framing · State Farm Arena workers change Dream's WNBA Finals court in time for Hawks to host night game

🔮 “So I just kind of sat there and presented my numbers to Berto (Mendoza) so he could just zip it on me, and that’s exactly what he did.”

2026-10-11 · assertive framing · Trelain Maddox's late TD, Duke missed FG gives Yellow Jackets first ACC win of season.

🔮 “Of course, who knows what would have happened to end the game, but we would have had hopefully a better shot on goal.”

2026-10-08 · assertive framing · Breanna Stewart says Liberty were told they did not have a reset timeout in overtime

🔮 She missed a desperation attempt on the final play after the Liberty didn’t use their reset to advance the ball, with Stewart saying after the game that officials told them they didn’t have one left.

2026-10-08 · assertive framing · Reese scores 23, Hillmon makes go-ahead basket in OT as Dream beat Liberty 101-98 for a 2-0 lead

🔮 STATESBORO, Ga. (AP) — Conner Weigman threw four touchdown passes and ran for two scores, leading No. 25 Houston to a 42-28 win over Georgia Southern on Saturday in coach Willie Fritz’s return to Statesboro.

2026-09-26 · assertive framing · Conner Weigman throws 4 TD passes, runs for 2 scores as No. 25 Houston beats Georgia Southern 42-28

🔮 “I think we could clean a lot of those things up, and at halftime we addressed a lot of those things.”

2026-09-19 · assertive framing · Justice Haynes scores 3 TDs in 44-11 Georgia Tech win over Mercer

Also by Alan Cole

State Farm Arena workers change Dream's WNBA Finals court in time for Hawks to host night game

2026-10-24 · Toronto Star

Trelain Maddox's late TD, Duke missed FG gives Yellow Jackets first ACC win of season.

2026-10-11 · Toronto Star

Breanna Stewart says Liberty were told they did not have a reset timeout in overtime

2026-10-08 · Toronto Star

Reese scores 23, Hillmon makes go-ahead basket in OT as Dream beat Liberty 101-98 for a 2-0 lead

2026-10-08 · Toronto Star

Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 10 articles by Alan Cole →

Claims (10 extracted, 0 hedged)

ATLANTA (AP) — Kevin Durant scored 22 points and both Reed Sheppard and Tari Eason had 19 points as the Houston Rockets beat the Atlanta Hawks 121-114. asserted

Rockets → score → Hawks

The Hawks nearly pulled off a comeback by cutting Houston’s 20-point lead down to five in the closing moments, but Durant knocked down two three throws with 18.9 seconds remaining to push the lead back to three possessions. asserted

Durant → pull → possessions

The win gave Houston its first 3-0 start since 2017-18, and spoiled Atlanta’s home opener after the Hawks won their first two games of the season on the road. asserted

Hawks → give → road

Seven Rockets scored in double figures. asserted

Rockets → score → figures

Amen Thompson posted his third consecutive double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds, and Alperen Sengun had one of his own with 17 points and 10 rebounds. asserted

Sengun → post → points

Jalen Johnson sored 26 points and tied his career-high with 16 assists for the Hawks. asserted

Johnson → sore → Hawks

The Rockets, who led the NBA in offensive rebounds last season, continued leaning on it as a strength with 13 offensive rebounds leading to 22 second chance points. asserted

who → lead → points

Sheppard, a 3-point sharpshooter who shot 43% from beyond the arc last year, shook off a 1 of 6 start to his season with a 5 of 11 performance. asserted

who → shoot → performance

Atlanta’s Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 18 points, and Aaron Wiggins made a strong impression in his first home game with the franchise after coming over from Oklahoma City in a summer trade, scoring 16 points off the bench. asserted

Wiggins → score → bench

The Rockets and Hawks will play the second half of their home-and-home Monday in Houston. asserted

Rockets → play → Houston

Durant scores 22, Sheppard hits five 3-pointers to lead Rockets to a win in Atlanta's home opener

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