Thunder Unable to Overcome Offensive Struggles in Loss to Rockets
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Oklahoma City was unable to overcome an inconsistent offense and lost to Houston on Wednesday, 112-106.
The game started out on the offensive with the Rockets scoring 34 in the first quarter. Even without Jalen Green and Kevin Porter Jr., Houston didn’t struggle to score.
Rookie Tari Eason led the way for the Rockets in the first half with Eric Gordon scoring 15. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander attempted to keep OKC in striking distance.
In the second quarter the offenses remained steady, but OKC was in defense mode trying to keep the Rocket lead from growing larger. Despite that, Oklahoma City was outscored 29-27 in the second quarter and went to the break trailing 63-52.
Gordon’s 15 first half points led the game while SGA rallied a Thunder-high 13. Tre Mann and Kenrich Williams both came off the bench to score 11 for OKC.
Overall OKC struggled in the first half, but was able to limit damage in the second quarter. A 10-4 run for OKC to begin the third quarter sparked momentum and forced a Rocket timeout early in the second half as OKC was able to cut the lead to a single possession.
Following the timeout OKC took a small lead before the Rockets offense found an answer.
From there OKC was able to maintain a small lead throughout the remainder of the quarter with offenses going back and forth trading blows.
Jaylin Williams came up big, scoring seven points in the quarter. SGA and Gordon continued to lead their respective units. When the dust settled OKC finished the third quarter up 86-84.
The fourth quarter began with the Rockets retaking the lead with a hot offensive start. Again leaving OKC clawing back in an attempt to retake the lead.
The Thunder offense once again struggled to find a consistent rhythm in the fourth quarter as the Rockets went on a scoring run to begin to rebuild their lead. They continued to fight, but the Rockets held strong and continued to hold their lead as time dwindled down.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 24 points, but struggled to find a consistent rhythm. Gordon led the way for the Rockets with 25 points.
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