4 consecutive losses! The Rockets won by 18 points, Durant 31+5. In this battle, I completely recognized these three stars.

Editor|Old Kankanqiu

On October 30, the NBA 2025-26 regular season ushered in a focus battle. The Toronto Raptors sat at home and faced the Houston Rockets. What is worrying is that after missing starting point guard VanVleet (reimbursed for the season due to injury), the team organization did encounter a big problem. Although they beat the Nets by 28 points in the last game and ended their two-game losing streak, the team started with only 1 win and 2 losses and ranked 11th in the Western Conference.

In response to this, in an interview with the media before the game, Durant said: "If my team has the strength to compete for the championship, I will accept the substitute role. But I don't think this will happen, and I am just expressing my attitude!" Obviously, for Durant, the current team predicament is indeed a problem he has always had, and it is inevitable to arouse doubts from the outside world, which requires him to adjust his mentality and make due changes.

In terms of the starting lineup for this game, for the Raptors, the coach's starting five are: Barrett, Ingram, Barnes, Quickley, and Boyles; for the Rockets, VanVleet is absent, and the starting lineup is: Kevin Durant, Alperon Shenjing, Amen Thompson, Jabari Smith Jr., and Okogie.

At the beginning of the first quarter, Ingram made a signature turn and hit a fadeaway. Then he hit a three-pointer from the bottom corner and scored 5 points in a row. The Raptors led the Rockets 5-2. Smith Jr. carried Barnes through and made a solid mid-range shot. He then turned around and held the ball behind his back to attract double-teams. Shen Jing decisively shot the ball and hit a long three-pointer. The Rockets overtook the Raptors by 7 points. Amen grabbed the backcourt rebound and directed a long pass to the quarterback. Durant quickly caught the ball and dunked easily. Boyles went down the pick-and-roll to receive a pass from his teammate, and immediately returned the favor with a one-handed dunk. Ethan made a precise lob pass on the fast break. Adams was one against three inside. He received the ball and completed a one-handed dunk. Shepard was in the crowd and drove to the basket. The throw shot made it 2+1. Ethan received the ball in the backcourt and hit a super long three-pointer near the center circle at the buzzer. After the first quarter, the Rockets led the Raptors 39-30 by 9 points.

In the first quarter of the game, Smith Jr. felt hot and scored the first 7 points. He played 9 minutes and scored 10 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists and 1 steal on 3-of-5 shooting, with a plus-minus value of +5.

Back in the second quarter, Barnes caught the ball from the wing and made consecutive three-pointers from wide open spaces. Currently, he has scored 14 points on 4 of 5 three-pointers. The Raptors narrowed the point difference to 2 points. Shen Jing was double-teamed when playing from behind. Capela cut to the basket and caught the ball for a two-handed dunk. The Rockets regained the lead to 8 points and stopped the Raptors. After the timeout, Ingram singled Amen, stopped and turned around to face the two defenders and hit a mid-range shot, stopping the bleeding in time. Barrett caught the ball in the corner and shot a three-pointer. Adams defended the volleyball block and slapped him away. Then Quickley was denied by Durant on the fast break. Amen received the ball in the frontcourt and took off directly to complete the dunk. After halftime, the Rockets still led the Raptors 70-63 by 7 points.

Halftime statistics, for the Rockets, Durant played 17 minutes, made 6 of 9 shots, 1 of 3 three-pointers, 14 points, 1 rebound and 1 block; Shen Jing played 19 minutes, made 3 of 4 shots, 1 of 2 three-pointers, 3 of 6 free throws, contributed 10 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 1 block.

For the Raptors, Ingram played 17 minutes, making 7 of 9 shots, 2 of 3 three-pointers, and efficiently scored 18 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block; Barnes made 5 of 8 shots, 4 of 6 three-pointers, and scored 14 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 steals.

Changed side to fight again. Smith Jr. held the ball and made a fast break. Facing the attack from behind and behind, he made a layup with a European step to score 2+1. Then Okogie and Smith Jr. scored consecutive three-pointers from the corner. The Rockets had widened the point difference to 17 points. At this time, Raptors Barrett returned to the locker room for an unknown reason. I wonder if he was injured? Ingram made a fake throw, but accidentally hit Okogie in the face with his elbow. The score was invalid. It was really like drinking cold water and hurting your teeth. Smith counterattacked and sent a second pass. Shen Jing followed up and received the ball to complete a gliding one-arm split dunk. Ethan received the ball in the backcourt and made a super long three-pointer. It was really lucky to have two fairy balls in one game. After three quarters, the Rockets still led the Raptors by 15 points 106-91.

In the decisive battle in the fourth quarter, Adams grabbed the front board with a steal and assisted Durant to hit an open three-pointer at the top of the arc. It was really good. There was basically no suspense in the game. In the end, the Rockets beat the Raptors 139-121 by 18 points. While celebrating two consecutive victories, they also gave the Raptors a four-game losing streak.

Full game statistics, for the Rockets, Durant made 11 of 19 shots and scored 31 points, 5 rebounds and 3 blocks; Shen Jing contributed 18 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks; Smith Jr. made 8 of 16 efficiently, scoring 25 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and 1 block; Ethan scored 14 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals.

For the Raptors, Ingram made 11 of 16 shots and scored 29 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and 1 block; Barnes made 11 of 18 shots and scored 31 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.

In this battle, I completely understand these three stars: first, Durant is really suitable for the "killer role". As long as he plays reasonably, he is still the strongest one in the game; second, as long as Ethan does not hold the ball and plays a good blue-collar and defensive leader, he will naturally have no worries about a big contract. Don't really think too much; third, Smith Jr. is really a player who can affect the trend of the game, and the threat on the offensive end is getting bigger and bigger.