Tired Celtics can't keep pace with Rockets as 5-game win streak ends

Zack Cox, Boston Herald on Nov 2, 2026

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Playing with heavy legs and a short-handed roster, the Boston Celtics fell to the Houston Rockets 109-93 on Monday.

Boston rested veteran wing Paul George on the second night of a back-to-back and struggled to replicate his impact at both ends of the floor.

Jayson Tatum, Derrick White, Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser shot a combined 9 for 41 from the field (22.0%) and 2 for 22 from 3-point range (9.1%) as Boston’s five-game win streak came to an end against a tough and talented Houston squad.

The Celtics got solid scoring efforts from big men Neemias Queta (16 points, 6 of 7, six rebounds) and Luka Garza (14 points, 4 of 7 from 3) but were overwhelmed by Rockets center Alperen Sengun, who posted a monster stat line in the win (26 points, 12 for 15, seven rebounds, 10 assists, two steals, two blocks).

Joe Mazzulla’s squad kept it close for three quarters against Ime Udoka’s Rockets before caving in the fourth. The loss — Boston’s first since opening night — dropped the Celtics to 5-2. Houston improved to 7-1.

Mazzulla made a couple of notable tweaks to his starting lineup. Baylor Scheierman made his first start of the season in George’s absence, and Neemias Queta got the nod over Mitchell Robinson at center. Robinson started the Celtics’ first five games before sitting out Sunday’s win in Orlando for rest purposes.

Hugo Gonzalez, who replaced Jordan Walsh in the starting five against the Magic, remained there against the Rockets.

Boston’s top unit of those three, Tatum and White had not played together before Monday.

Scheierman was a handful for Houston in the opening minutes. He picked Kevin Durant’s pocket to start a fast break, denied a lob to Sengun at the rim and drew a charge on Amen Thompson. At the other end, the third-year wing hit a corner 3-pointer and a turnaround one-footed fadeaway.

Gonzalez also was active early, scoring six first-quarter points on a putback, a steal-and-score and a well-timed baseline cut. Tatum, who came in averaging 7.7 assists per game, found Gonzalez for that backdoor layup, then connected with Hauser on a similar make later in the first quarter.

The Rockets built a 10-point lead against the Celtics’ second unit thanks to two Tari Eason 3s and a bizarre own goal by Tatum. Third-string center Garza denied a long outlet pass to Sengun, and in the ensuing fight for the rebound, the ball deflected off Tatum’s hands and into Boston’s basket.

But the Celtics pulled even by the end of the first, 29-29, on two Garza 3-pointers and a pair of strong Tatum drives.

Boston opened the second quarter with a new three-guard lineup featuring White, Pritchard and seldom-used veteran Mike Conley, who saw the first non-garbage-time minutes of his Celtics tenure. That grouping was short-lived, and the Celtics struggled to generate offense during Tatum’s first breather of the night. Threes by Conley and Garza were the only points Boston scored in the more than six minutes that Tatum sat.

Arguably the Celtics’ biggest first-half issue, though, was Robinson. The 7-footer struggled to defend Sengun during his first four-minute shift, suffered a thumb sprain that sent him to the locker room, then committed fouls on back-to-back plays after returning.

Robinson logged just seven minutes before halftime, during which Boston was outscored by 14 points. Queta was a plus-9 in the first half, and Garza was a plus-7 as the Celtics trailed 57-50 at the break.

Mazzulla changed tactics to start the third quarter, sending out Robinson and Queta together in a double-big lineup. That grouping was more successful, staging a 12-3 run early in the second half to trim Houston’s lead to one.

Queta started that rally with a 3-pointer from the corner — his second of the season and third of his NBA career — followed by consecutive putbacks. Robinson finished it with a lob dunk from Tatum.

That one-point deficit was as close as the Celtics could get, however. The Rockets regained control, holding Boston to seven free throws and zero made field goals over the final six-plus minutes of the third.

Old friend Marcus Smart stepped into the spotlight during that stretch. Now a backup guard for Houston, the former longtime Celtic delivered his trademark mix of feisty defense and over-the-top theatrics, drawing charges against Tatum on consecutive plays and trying in vain to draw two more on Pritchard and Garza.

Smart also hit two late 3-pointers after an 0 for 5 start as his new team pulled away in the fourth quarter.

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