As 12-4 Rockets stack wins, Ime Udoka takes pride in defensive growth

Led by the All-Star duo of Kevin Durant and Alperen Sengun and a pair of rising stars in Amen Thompson and Reed Sheppard, the Houston Rockets have ranked near the top of the NBA in offensive rating throughout the 2025-26 season. Initially, their defensive metrics were a mixed bag.

But in recent games, the Rockets are proving to be a two-way force. Houston now ranks No. 6 among the league’s 30 teams in defensive rating (111.1), and the Rockets are even better (103.2) over their most recent two wins — on the road at Phoenix and Golden State.

Wednesday’s 104-100 victory over the Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler-led Warriors came despite Houston missing numerous rotation players (including Durant) and shooting below 40% overall and 30% from 3-point range.

The Rockets overcame the absences and subpar shooting nights thanks to another massive rebounding advantage (66-54) and strong defense. In the second half, as Houston turned a 14-point deficit into an eventual win, Golden State scored just 41 points while making only 2-of-21 shots from 3-point range (9.5%).

During his postgame press conference, Ime Udoka — long known as a defensive minded head coach — was clearly pleased by his team’s sudden ability to win games on both ends of the court.

Among Udoka’s comments:

A big mantra of ours, going into the season, was to continue to do what brought us success the last few years. While we improved on the offensive end and added some pieces here and there, we don’t want to lose that mentality that we have. We feel like we’re one of the teams that can do it on both ends, offensively and defensively. Some (teams) just try to outscore you. Some try to guard and stop you, like we did in previous years. We can do both. And when we do both, we’re in great shape.

But on a night where we don’t shoot our best, like tonight, we can still rely on that and hold a team to 100. Fred (VanVleet) and Dillon (Brooks) are gone and those guys kind of had that edge and mentality, but other guys have stepped up. And it just rubs off on everybody.

Among regular starters, Jabari Smith Jr., Amen Thompson, and Josh Okogie often bring that “edge and mentality” that Udoka described. But off the bench, as injuries and absences have piled up in recent days, veterans such as Clint Capela, Aaron Holiday, and Jae’Sean Tate have all provided a spark and a high level of intensity in recent games.

Even Sheppard, once regarded as a defensive concern due to his youth and relatively small size, drew postgame praise from Udoka for his defensive growth.

Last season, Houston ranked No. 5 in the NBA in defense and No. 12 on offense. This season, the high-powered offense (currently No. 2) has surged as expected, and the recent defensive improvements have led the Rockets to a spot that — at the moment — is nearly identical to a year ago.

The net result is an overall team performance (No. 2 in net rating, +11.0) showing clear growth, as evidenced by Houston’s 12-4 record and an ongoing stretch of 12 wins in 14 games.

At the moment, the .750 winning percentage for the Rockets would extropolate to 61.5 wins over a full season, roughly 10 games better than their 52-30 mark a season ago.

Making matters even better, the schedule is about to turn more favorable. Per ESPN, Houston’s current strength of schedule (.533) ranks No. 3 in the NBA. Over the remaining 66 games, via Tankathon, the Rockets check in at No. 30 in projected difficulty (.466) — dead last among all teams.

Entering Thanksgiving weekend, fans of the Rockets have much to be thankful for.

More: Rockets (12-4) rally past Warriors as Reed Sheppard scores career high

This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: As 12-4 Rockets stack wins, Ime Udoka takes pride in defensive growth