The Thunder lost 119-98 at Houston, their second straight road defeat by more than 20, despite two days of rest against a Rockets team on the second night of a back-to-back. The 4-2 record still holds fifth place, but the short rotation is now costing games.
Three runs decided it
Houston scored the first 10 points of a Q2 stretch to go from 45-34 to 55-34, and the Thunder answered with a 10-0 run of their own. It did not last. The Rockets opened the second half by turning 60-51 into 70-51, and a final 10-0 in the fourth made it 108-81. There was one lead change and one tie all night. Jabari Smith Jr. scored 30 with six threes and finished plus-33. Marcus Smart added 24 on 7-of-10 from deep. Oklahoma City never got within single digits after halftime.
Grades from the lines
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander earns a B-plus: 26 points on 10-of-20 shooting in 31 minutes, though the team was still outscored by 7 with him on the floor. Bennett Stirtz gets a B for 11 points and three threes on six tries. Jared McCain gets a D: 5-of-14 from the field, 0-of-5 from three, minus-9 in 28 minutes. Ajay Mitchell posted the worst plus-minus, minus-27 in 26 minutes, and Jaylin Williams was minus-21 in the same time. Only Josh Dix, at plus-1 in nine minutes, finished positive. Aday Mara had nine rebounds and four blocks, but the Thunder were still outscored by 8 in his 28 minutes.
What the loss changes
Oklahoma City is 4-2, fifth in the West, level with sixth-place San Antonio and two games ahead of the 11th seed. The rest advantage was real: the Thunder had two days off, while Houston played its fourth game in seven days. By our count, injuries have taken 837 minutes from the Thunder since Oct. 20, the eighth most of 30 teams, and Holmgren, Williams, Wallace, Caruso, Topic and Sorber are all listed out. The next test is Monday at Cleveland, with Cleveland again on Wednesday. Caruso, Topic and Sorber carry a Nov. 4 estimated return, so help may arrive only for the second game of that pair.
Why did the Thunder lose to the Rockets?
Houston ran off three 10-0 stretches and led by as many as 27, while Smith Jr. scored 30 and Smart hit seven threes. The Thunder never led by more than 4.
Where are the Thunder in the standings after the loss?
They are 4-2 and fifth in the West, level with sixth-place San Antonio and two games ahead of the 11th seed. They lost their last two games.
