Durant’s 40 Falls Short as Chicago’s Young Core Holds Off Houston

Chicago survives Houston’s late punch, thanks to a poised finish and a massive Buzelis spark

Chicago doesn’t just win this one — it owns the first half, absorbs Houston’s best shot, and then closes with the kind of shot-making that keeps a building steady when a star gets hot. The Bulls lead by as many as 22, stack up 65 points by halftime, and look in control for long stretches. But when Kevin Durant catches fire late and Houston turns the fourth quarter into a track meet, Chicago still finds answers. Matas Buzelis, Josh Giddey and Collin Sexton keep the ball moving, make the right reads, and hit the biggest shots down the stretch to secure a 132-124 win.

The tone is set immediately. Chicago opens with an 8-2 burst after Josh Giddey drills a running 25-footer, then stretches the gap with an 11-0 type of surge that includes Jalen Smith’s 10-foot floater off a T. Jones feed. That early run pushes the Bulls from a one-possession edge to a 43-21 cushion, and the game suddenly has the look of a home team dictating every possession. Chicago keeps the pressure on in the second quarter, when Collin Sexton knocks down a running three as part of an 8-0 run to make it 56-34. The Bulls are not just scoring — they’re getting clean looks, moving the ball, and forcing Houston to chase from a deep hole.

Houston, though, does enough in the third to keep the game from slipping completely away. Alperen Sengun starts living at the rim and in the passing lanes, eventually piling up a monstrous 33-point, 13-rebound, 10-assist triple-double on 84% shooting. Kevin Durant is right there with him, but in a different gear: he finishes with 40 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists, hitting five threes and repeatedly bailing Houston out of empty possessions. The Rockets trim the margin to 95-87 by the end of the third, and even after trailing for most of the night, they’re close enough to smell a steal if Chicago goes cold. For a moment, the game feels unsettled.

Then the fourth quarter turns into a shot-maker’s duel. Houston opens the period by slicing the deficit and eventually ties it at 116 on Durant’s 19-foot step-back jumper with 2:18 left. Before that, Collin Sexton makes a huge defensive play with a steal at 3:19, a possession that briefly helps Chicago steady itself. But Houston keeps landing body blows: Sengun powers in a driving dunk to make it 114-114, and Kevin Durant answers later with a 26-foot step-back three to cut it to 124-124. Every time the Rockets seem ready to flip the game, Chicago has one more counter.

That’s where the turning point lands. With the score tied at 116, Josh Giddey calmly drills a 25-foot three at 1:21 to put Chicago back in front, and Matas Buzelis follows with the sequence that breaks Houston’s momentum for good. He buries a 26-foot three with 1:00 left to push the Bulls to a 124-118 lead, then adds a driving layup in the final 10 seconds to help seal it. Buzelis finishes with 23 points and five threes, but his biggest value is timing — every shot lands exactly when the Bulls need a release valve. Chicago also gets a huge night from Giddey, whose 15 points, 7 rebounds and 13 assists reflect just how much of the offense he’s steering.

This is the kind of win that says something about Chicago’s ceiling: they can blow a team open early, then withstand a superstar avalanche without unraveling. Houston’s stars were spectacular, but the Bulls’ balance won out. The result keeps Chicago moving in the right direction and gives the locker room a real confidence boost heading into the next stretch, especially with the kind of late-game shot creation Buzelis and Giddey just showed. For Houston, the loss is more frustrating than discouraging — Durant and Sengun were brilliant, but the early hole proved too deep to climb out of, even with a furious fourth-quarter push.