No Dillon… No problem.
The Houston Rockets are guaranteed at minimum a 6th seed in the playoffs, but Ime Udoka immediately shut down any notion of being satisfied. The Rockets want to stay in the two seed. Tonight was the first of five games against playoff teams and it was against the best in the West, the OKC Thunder. The Rockets came out ready.
Alperen Sengun and Jalen Green set the tone offensively, Amen Thompson and Steven Adams set the tone defensively, and the bench wasted no time getting involved in a first quarter that saw the Rockets shoot 54 percent from the floor, force five first quarter turnovers, and get to the line nine times, making eight of them. Jalen Green scored 14 in the quarter and Sengun scored 11 and the Rockets lead after one quarter 35-28.
The Rockets owned the second quarter, starting with a 17-9 run, holding the Thunder to 3-of-11 shooting in that span, and going 3-of-4 form three during the run. The Rockets also began to separate themselves by dominating the boards with more than double the offensive rebounds as the thunder midway through the second quarter.
At one point the Rockets scored 14 straight points and lead by as many as 21 points. Ultimately the Rockets held the Thunder to 44.4 percent shooting in the first half, shot 51 percent from the floor themselves including 43.8 percent from three, went 9-of-11 from the free-throw line and out rebounded OKC 27-17 to take a 69-53 lead into the half. Alperen Sengun led the way with 19 points at the half on 7-of-11 shooting. Jabari Smith Jr. had 7 points and 11 rebounds off the bench.
The Thunder were able to cut into the lead slowly in the third quarter, until the Rockets inserted their “small ball” lineup playing Jabari Smith Jr. at center. Jae’Sean Tate had a great quarter hitting two threes and bringing the defensive intensity we have been accustomed to during his tenure with the Rockets. The Rockets lead was trimmed to 12, then eventually they got it back to 20, before the Thunder went on a run at the end of the quarter to cut the deficit to 96-85 headed into the final quarter.
The Rockets would have to keep up their intensity if they were going to end the 11-game win-streak and they did just that. The Rockets outscored the Thunder 29-26 in the fourth quarter. Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun played the role of closers and they both ended the game scoring 30+ points.
The Rockets outshot the Thunder, out-rebounded the Thunder, dominated in fast-break points and ultimately went wire-to-wire in a 125-111 victory. Alpi scored 31 points, Jalen Green scored 34 points, both on an efficient 52 and 45 percent shooting. Jabari Smith Jr. grabbed 17 rebounds and Steven Adams grabbed 12 boards. It was an overall team win to notch their 51st on the season.
The Rockets will face another tough test on Sunday when they head to San Francisco to take on the Golden State Warriors at 7:30 PM CST. Watch the game on Space City Home Network, NBA TV, or listen on Sports Talk 790 AM.