Thunder
Rockets bury Thunder behind 68 bench points, 17 threes
The Rockets routed the Thunder 116-89 at Toyota Center behind a 17-of-53 night from three and a 68-8 edge in bench scoring. Oklahoma City never led by more than 2 and turned it over 17 times against just eight Houston giveaways. It was a preseason game, so no standings impact, but Houston's depth and ball movement (34 assists, eight turnovers) were the headline.
By the Hoops Nightly Desk · updated 4 d ago01The story of the nightA back-and-forth middle quarters, then a blowout finishHouston opened fast, taking a 33-15 first quarter.
Houston opened fast, taking a 33-15 first quarter. Oklahoma City answered with a 32-point second to cut it to 54-47 at the half. The Rockets pushed back ahead 79-69 after three, then closed it out with a 37-20 fourth quarter to turn a competitive game into a 116-89 final. The Thunder's biggest lead all night was 2 points; Houston's reached 29.
02Bogdanovic and Sengun lead a balanced Rockets attackBogdan Bogdanovic scored 15 off the bench on 5-of-9 shooting, including 5-of-8 from three.
Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 15 off the bench on 5-of-9 shooting, including 5-of-8 from three. Alperen Sengun posted 14 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. Amen Thompson added 12 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists, and Tari Eason chipped in 12 on 5-of-7 shooting. For Oklahoma City, Jalen Williams led all scorers with 18 points on 7-of-14 shooting, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 17, though he finished a team-worst minus-24.
03Houston's bench and ball security did the damageThe Rockets' reserves outscored the Thunder's bench 68-38.
The Rockets' reserves outscored the Thunder's bench 68-38. Houston also won the turnover battle badly, giving the ball away just 8 times to Oklahoma City's 17, and converted those giveaways into 20 points off turnovers versus the Thunder's 8. Houston shot 17-of-53 from three to Oklahoma City's 5-of-36, and out-assisted them 34-19. The Thunder actually won the paint battle numbers aside were close, 50-54, but couldn't match Houston's volume from deep or its bench scoring.
04Cold shooting sinks a few Thunder regularsJared McCain shot just 3-of-13 overall and 0-of-8 from three in 21-plus minutes off the bench.
Jared McCain shot just 3-of-13 overall and 0-of-8 from three in 21-plus minutes off the bench. Fred VanVleet for Houston also struggled from the floor, going 3-of-13 and 1-of-9 from deep, but still ran the offense with 8 assists and 2 steals. Isaiah Hartenstein grabbed 8 rebounds but managed only 6 points on 3-of-7 shooting. Across the board, role players shooting efficiently, Bogdanovic, Eason, Reed Sheppard, made the difference for Houston.
05A preseason tune-up, not a statementThis was labeled a preseason game, so it carries no standings weight for either club.
This was labeled a preseason game, so it carries no standings weight for either club. Both teams still enter the night 0-0. For Houston, the 34 assists against 8 turnovers and the bench production are the kind of habits a deep roster wants on tape before the games count. For Oklahoma City, the turnover trouble (17) and cold shooting from several rotation pieces are the issues to clean up before the regular season starts.
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