The Rockets closed out their season Sunday afternoon in familiar fashion, losing 130-114 to the Atlanta Hawks. The loss was their seventh in a row, including losses last week to the Timberwolves, Nets and Raptors. As they had been doing, the Rockets played these games without veterans Christian Wood, Eric Gordon and Dennis Schroder, collectively shut down to end the season so that the front office could get a closer look at some of the team's youngest prospects.
The significance to the season-ending loss is that it locked the Rockets into the worst record in basketball, at 20-62, a distinction which will guarantee the franchise a top five selection in this summer's upcoming draft.