March 9, 2026, 8:29 a.m. CT

In a nationally televised showdown of longtime Texas rivals, the Rockets were no match for Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs in Sunday’s 145-120 beatdown (box score) in San Antonio.

“It was nonexistent, honestly, in every way,” head coach Ime Udoka said of Houston’s defense. “Lacked any kind of physicality or toughness just to stay in front of your guy. Just blow-by, blow-by, and that’s going to collapse the defense and get to those kickout threes.”

“Worst defensive performance of the year,” Udoka concluded.

With Sunday’s result, Houston (39-24) dropped to No. 4 in the Western Conference standings, while San Antonio (47-17) remains at No. 2. Should the Spurs rise to No. 1 or the Rockets climb back to No. 3, the two teams could conceivably meet in the second round of the 2026 playoffs in May.

For the 2025-26 regular season as a whole, San Antonio won three of its four matchups versus Houston.

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Key player statistics were as follows:

Amen Thompson: 23 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists; 8-of-15 shooting (53.3%), 7-of-8 on free throws (87.5%)Kevin Durant: 23 players, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks; 7-of-12 shooting (58.3%), 8-of-9 on free throwsJabari Smith Jr.: 17 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists; 5-of-8 shooting (62.5%), 6-of-7 on free throws (85.7%)Alperen Sengun: 16 points, 6 rebounds, 5 turnovers, 3 assists; 7-of-12 shooting (58.3%)Reed Sheppard: 17 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds, 4 turnovers; 6-of-15 shooting (40.0%), 3-of-10 on 3-pointers (30.0%)Victor Wembanyama (Spurs): 29 points, 8 rebounds, 4 blocks; 9-of-13 shooting (69.2%), 2-of-5 on 3-pointers (40.0%), 9-of-10 on free throws (90.0%)De’Aaron Fox (Spurs): 20 points, 10 assists; 9-of-15 shooting (60.0%)Stephon Castle (Spurs): 23 points, 5 assists; 7-of-13 shooting (53.8%), 3-of-4 on 3-pointers (75.0%), 6-of-7 on free throws (85.7%)

As a team, San Antonio connected at a blistering clip from 3-point range and finished 21-of-40 (52.5%) from deep. From a math perspective, that simply overwhelmed the Rockets (8-of-28, 28.6%).

Many of the 3-pointers that the Spurs got came in large part to the attention drawn by Wembanyama, a franchise talent who is only 22 years old.

Yet, in postgame comments, Udoka bristled at the notion that Houston lacks the high-end talent to match up.

“We have the talent, no doubt,” Udoka said in response to a question by the Houston Chronicle’s Varun Shankar. “It’s identity, mentality, toughness, dog, all of that is missing right now. We’ll see if we can get it back by the end of the season.”

Relative to 2024-25, when the Rockets finished at 52-30 and No. 2 in the West, the Rockets are missing three culture setting veterans in Fred VanVleet, Steven Adams, and Dillon Brooks. The first two are out with long-term leg injuries, while Brooks was traded as part of the offseason deal for Durant.

“Our identity was being a dog,” Şengün said of last season’s team (via the Houston Chronicle).

To say the least, it’s not the identity of the team that gave up 145 points on Sunday night.

Next up for the Rockets is Tuesday’s home matchup versus Toronto (35-27). Tipoff of Rockets-Raptors is at 7:00 p.m. Central from Toyota Center, and the game will be televised regionally on Space City Home Network and nationally via NBA League Pass.

More: Can Amen Thompson unlock Houston’s fourth-quarter offense?