Houston is hanging with the league’s best.
The Houston Rockets moved to within a half game of the Western Conference leading Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday night after a 119-116 victory over OKC at the Toyota Center.
The Rockets leaned on their veterans in this one, as Fred VanVleet led the way with 38 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists on 10-for-19 shooting from the field and 5-for-9 from three, and he got some help from Dillon Brooks, who hit the go-ahead bucket with 33 seconds left after also winning a jump ball from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Brooks had 16 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists on 6-for-11 shooting from the floor and 2-for4 from deep. He also guarded Gilgeous-Alexander for most of the fourth quarter, when the Thunder star went just 1-for-5 shooting.
This was the biggest win of the year so far for the Rockets, and though the Thunder are banged up, they’re still the top team in the Western Conference, and the Rockets showed they can not only hang with the conference elite, but also beat them.
As has been the case all season with this group, who lack a top-flight superstar, it was a total team effort for Houston. Alperen Sengun was one assist away from another triple double, putting in 20 points, 14 boards and 9 assists, though he was just 7-for-17 shooting. He did, however, make a nifty pass to Brooks from the floor to set up Dillon’s big bucket.
Jabari Smith Jr. had 15 points and 14 boards while also blocking 3 shots and was a defensive force for Houston, who held the Thunder to 44 percent shooting from the floor and 13-for-39 from deep.
The Rockets themselves shot just just 41 percent on the night, but they made up for it with the strong D and by getting to the free throw line 39 times, making 30 of them.
As for the Thunder, Gilgeous-Alexander had 32 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists, Jalen Williams had 22 points and former Rocket Isaiah Hartenstein had 19 points and 14 rebounds.
The Rockets move to 15-6 on the season and will return to action on Tuesday against the Sacramento Kings.