Houston Rockets coach Ime Udoka was ejected and lambasted the officiating as "soft" following a dispiriting 132-124 loss to the Chicago Bulls. Udoka received two technical fouls in the final seconds, calling a flagrant foul on guard Amen Thompson and his own techs "soft as hell." His frustration stemmed from a catastrophic first quarter where Houston allowed 41 points, falling behind by 20.

The defeat has serious playoff implications, dropping the Rockets from fourth to sixth place in the Western Conference. They now sit half a game behind both the Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves. This marks Houston's 12th loss to a team below .500 this season, a league-high tied for any team with a winning record, exposing their inconsistency against inferior opposition.

Despite a furious rally fueled by Kevin Durant's 40 points on 15-for-23 shooting and Alperen Şengün's 33 points, the Rockets couldn't overcome the early hole. Bulls starters Josh Giddey, Matas Buzelis, and Jalen Smith hit clutch threes in the final 90 seconds to seal the win. Udoka squarely blamed his team's effort, stating they didn't respect the game or the opponent in that opening frame.

"It's the NBA, and if you come out like that, you're going to be inconsistent, you're going to have bad losses," Udoka said. The combination of a slow start, late-game officiating disputes, and an inability to hold leads against a lesser team highlights the Rockets' fragility during a critical stretch of the season.