The Rockets won their tenth game in a row to keep pace in the play-in race.
Wow! This one had game of the year potential as the Houston Rockets went back and forth with the Oklahoma City Thunder in what turned out to be a 132-126 overtime win for Space City.
Houston caught a break going into the game as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander sat this one out with a right quadriceps contusion. Nonetheless, the Thunder still entered the game with a talented roster capable of winning on most nights.
However, the Rockets had different plans.
Houston got off to a blistering 15-2 start as OKC struggled to connect from the field. Although the quarter ended in a 28-17 Rockets’ advantage, it felt like they didn’t capitalize enough off of the Thunder’s early struggles.
The Rockets were able to get out to an early lead in large part due to an uptempo pace and transition opportunities. Unfortunately, the tempo swung more into OKC’s favor going into the second quarter as they started to find the rim.
The Thunder got a boost off the bench from the likes of Isaiah Joe (17 points) and the shell of Gordon Hayward (13 points) as they took a one point lead into half. It also didn’t help that Jabari Smith Jr. found himself in foul trouble during the first half.
However, it was none other than Jalen Green that kept the Rockets afloat as the Thunder flirted with double digit leads during the second half. Green looked spectacular once again, and in my opinion, this was his best performance of the season.
Green exploded for 37 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists, but most importantly, his performance was timely on this night. For one, he kept making the threes to narrow the Thunder’s lead and give his team life. He also compromised the Thunder’s zone — yes, they broke out the 2-3 zone for Jalen — thus making it not as effective as they may have hoped.
He also hit the boards and made some key defensive plays, but I was most impressed with how quickly he swung the ball during crunch time. It was he who found Jabari (16 points) open in the corner on what was supposed to be the game winning shot prior to Williams tying it up with four seconds left.
Even after Green’s game winning attempt rolled out at the buzzer, he didn’t allow it to get him frazzled for the overtime period. This would have likely went the other way in years past. It’s been a remarkable turnaround to say the least.
All in all, this was a thrilling contest. The Thunder looked like a formidable foe, even without SGA, but the Rockets continued to look like a team that’s turned the corner. Houston looked great besides the turnover issues that allowed the Thunder to get back in the game and take control midway through.
Amen Thompson continued to eat on the baseline and on the boards as he collected another 25 points and 15 rebounds. It’s going to be really difficult to take him out of the starting unit once the team gets healthy.
Dillon Brooks also came through in a big way with 20 points and two crucial threes to get the Rockets out to the early lead in overtime. It also wouldn’t be a Rockets game if one of the players didn’t crash out, even to a slight degree, as Brooks got T’d up for pushing Josh Giddey.
In full transparency, Giddey played well tonight with 31 points and 7 rebounds, but he deserved to be shoved. Bari did not want his help off the floor. For Brooks, he may need to temporarily relinquish some of the enforcer duties as he’s getting eerily close to the suspension mark for the amount of techs he’s accumulated.
Jalen Williams also proved to be a big-time player in the absence of SGA, but the Rockets managed to hold him relatively in check for most of the game. Houston also benefitted from the lack of production out of Chet Holmgren tonight. To the Rockets’ credit, they got him to foul out in only 18 minutes.
The way that the Rockets battled back to salvage a victory in this game is certainly something to be proud of.
With this win, the Rockets managed to keep within striking range of the tenth seed. The Golden State Warriors also won tonight, but the April 4 showdown is just around the corner. In the meantime, let the good times roll.