The Houston Rockets and OKC Thunder met in a clash of the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in the West, with the lower-seeded Rockets prevailing 119-116 in a phenomenal matchup at the Toyota Center in Houston.
The Rockets were led by Fred VanVleet carrying the team offensively, dropping 38 points (10-19 FG) while Alperen Sengun had 20 points (7-17 FG), 14 rebounds, and nine assists for a near triple-double. Dillon Brooks had a sensational two-way performance and came up clutch with 16 points (6-11 FG) and seven rebounds. Jabari Smith Jr. notched a double-double with 15 points (6-15 FG) and 14 rebounds.
The Thunder fought hard behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander‘s 32 points (10-19 FG), eight rebounds, and five assists, and Isaiah Hartenstein’s 19 points (9-12 FG) and 13 rebounds. Jalen Williams scored 22 points (7-21 FG) with five rebounds and seven assists. Cason Wallace impressed with 14 points (5-11 FG) and nine rebounds while Aaron Wiggins had 13 points (6-12 FG) in an impactful stint off the bench.
Let’s dig deeper into how the Rockets pulled this sensational win off to solidify their status as contenders in the Western Conference.
Grinding Out A Closely Matched Game
This victory was a grind for the Rockets, who didn’t blow the Thunder away in any particular statistical category in this win that they can point to as the reason. The Thunder were a more active and efficient shooting team in this win, going 42-94 from the field (44.7 FG%) and 13-39 from three (33.3 3P%). The Rockets went 38-92 from the field (41.3 FG%) and 13-37 from three (35.1 3P%).
Houston won the rebounding battle 51-46 but was a far less creative offense, as the Thunder dished out 30 assists in the loss compared to the Rockets’ 20. Given it was a one-possession game, the Rockets pulling down 15 offensive rebounds instead of 10 like the Thunder might have been enough of a swing to help the Rockets, though the Thunder forced more turnovers in the loss (10-7).
Keeping the game close until the end played in Houston’s favor, as they used their league-best defense to shut the Thunder out while Fred VanVleet (38 PTS) and Dillon Brooks’ (16 PTS, 7 REB) made massive plays in the clutch to ensure the Rockets pulled out just enough to stamp this win in their favor.
Thunder’s Physical Defense Got Penalized
One unfortunate criticism of this sensational game is the fact that there was a lot of referee intervention at multiple points in the contest. A total of 47 fouls were called during the contest, with 26 being called against the Thunder and 21 against the Rockets. The timing and placement of those fouls carry a lot of weight, especially with how they impacted this game with a close result.
The teams combined to shoot 54 free throws, with OKC going 19-25 from the line and Houston going 30-39 from the line. An 11-point swing because of free throws can be costly to any team in a close game like this and it seems the Thunder got the short end of the stick. The problem wasn’t dubious or biased officiating, but the constantly moving standards of what level of physicality is allowed on an NBA court.
The Thunder play tough defense against all their opponents, especially in lineups where they are undersized as Isaiah Hartenstein (19 PTS, 13 REB) played just 30 minutes tonight. Even marginal contact with offensive players has been leading to free throws too easily this season, a stark contrast from what we saw at the end of last year’s regular season.
OKC won’t change their defensive identity, but they’ll feel hard done by how this game turned out with free throws being a major factor.
OKC Need Reinforcements
Nothing can be taken away from the Rockets in terms of how well they played to earn this win tonight, but the Thunder’s especially ‘deep’ roster is being tested early this season with a string of injuries. They’re notably without Chet Holmgren, with the big man getting hurt at the time Isaiah Hartenstein was injured. While Hart is on the court now, there’s no backup big man to provide the team with any cover when he has to check out of the game.
OKC’s small-ball lineups have been among the best in the NBA but it relies heavily on big production from Jalen Williams (22 PTS, 7-21 FG) and other forwards who get minutes. Tonight, Williams couldn’t make a big impact offensively and the team felt it. Their depth pieces like Aaron Wiggins (13 PTS) and Isaiah Joe (0 PTS) can provide big moments but their consistency is spotty, which also applies to rookies like Ajay Mitchell (0 PTS).
OKC will look fierce again when Holmgren, Alex Caruso, and Jaylin Williams return to the rotation, but the franchise has an excess of draft assets they could use to make minor moves to strengthen their rotation. While the Thunder haven’t made many win-now trades since completing their rebuild and becoming a contender, it might be time for them to look at players like Cam Johnson, Dorian Finney-Smith, or any available center in the NBA to make a move.
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