OKC Thunder Fall to Houston Rockets 119-116 in Back-and-Forth Affair

Rockets guard Fred VanVleet scored a season-high 38 points to overcome Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's efficient 32.

Dec 1, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) drives with the ball as Houston Rockets forward Dillon Brooks (9) and guard Jalen Green (4) defend during the first quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The Houston Rockets took down the Oklahoma City Thunder 119-116 in a clutch showdown between the Western Conference's top two seeds.

Cason Wallace — after making three of his first nine field-goal attempts — swished a right-corner triple on a well-timed Isaiah Hartenstein pass with three minutes left. Fred VanVleet responded on the next possession with a catch-and-shoot three over Wallace to tie the game at 108.

They traded timely threes two minutes later, with VanVleet swishing a 32-footer as the shot clock expired and Wallace tying the game from a Hartenstein offensive rebound and feed.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander forced a jump ball on Dillon Brooks with 51 seconds left remaining — their extended fight for the ball resulted in a player clearance in front of the Houston bench, although no unsportsmanlike fouls were issued.

Brooks won the following tip and made a tough mid-range fadeaway over Gilgeous-Alexander to put the Rockets up 115-113. He released the ball with 0.1 seconds left on the shot clock.

Gilgeous-Alexander missed a contested free-throw line jumper coming out of the timeout. Brooks grabbed the rebound with 25 seconds left, but Oklahoma City did not foul a Rockets ball-handler until 20 seconds later. VanVleet made both free throws — pushing the Rockets lead to four and his point total to a season-high 36.

Jalen Williams made a quick triple to bring the Thunder within a point, but airballed a long 3-pointer at the buzzer since Oklahoma City could not advance the ball.

The Thunder played the final six minutes of the night without Luguentz Dort, who fouled out by hitting Jabari Smith Jr. after the Rockets forward secured a defensive rebound.

Gilgeous-Alexander totaled 32 points on 10-for-19 shooting and 9-for-11 at the free-throw line. He also recorded eight rebounds, five assists and two steals — on just two turnovers — to round out his night.

Isaiah Hartenstein secured his fifth double-double in five Thunder appearances. He scored 19 points on 9-for-12 from the field and grabbed 13 rebounds, adding four assists, a steal and a block. Aaron Wiggins contributed 13 points, three rebounds and three assists off the bench.

Houston guard Fred VanVleet racked up a season-high 38 points, making five of his nine 3-point attempts and shooting 13-for-14 at the line. Alperen Sengun filled up the box score with 20 points, 14 rebounds (five offensive) and nine assists. Jabari Smith Jr. tallied 15 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks with a game-high +10 plus-minus.

Factor	Thunder	Rockets
Points	116	119
Effective FG%	51.6%	48.4%
Turnovers	7	10
Offensive Rebounds	11	15
Free Throws	19-for-25	30-for-39

Oklahoma City started Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Hartenstein, Dort and Wallace for the second straight game.

The Rockets started VanVleet, Jalen Green, Brooks, Smith Jr. and Sengun.

Hartenstein won the opening tipoff against Sengun and caught an immediate alley-oop slam from Jalen Williams. He scored five points, grabbed two rebounds and blocked Sengun before the first timeout of the night.

Brooks drained two catch-and-shoot corner threes and two mid-range baskets in the game's first seven minutes. He and VanVleet combined for 17 first-quarter points on 10 shot attempts to ignite the Rockets offense. Houston shot 5-for-9 from deep and recorded four offensive rebounds to take a 33-28 lead after one quarter.

The Rockets expanded their lead to 11 points through rim penetration and quality outside shooting. Smith Jr. finished a transition dunk after an opposite-end inbounds steal, and Jalen Green finished an and-one layup over Dort to force a Mark Daigneault timeout four minutes into the second quarter.

Oklahoma City got back into the game with consistent 3-point shooting. Kenrich Williams, Dort and Wiggins made wide-open looks, and Gilgeous-Alexander bottomed a top-of-the-key step-back triple over Brooks. The Thunder made four of their final six outside attempts of the first half and trailed 62-60 at the break.

Hartenstein continued his two-way production after halftime, making two 10-foot floaters and two layups within five minutes to drive Oklahoma City's offense. He also grabbed his 10th defensive rebound of the game early in the third quarter.

The Rockets, however, maintained their slim advantage by drawing plenty of free throws on rim attempts. They shot 12-for-13 at the line during the first six minutes of the quarter, with Sengun and VanVleet combining for 11 attempts.

Gilgeous-Alexander drew four Houston fouls on one possession, including a transition take foul on Brooks, to put Oklahoma City in the bonus. He scored 13 points in a five-minute stretch to push the Thunder's lead up to seven points in the third quarter's closing minutes, highlighted by a step-back triple and breakaway dunk after forcing a Smith Jr. live-ball turnover.

VanVleet found a baseline-cutting Amen Thompson for an uncontested slam with 12 seconds remaining, and Kenrich Williams missed a wide-open 3-pointer on the final possession — Oklahoma City led 96-91 after three quarters.

The Thunder return home to play the Utah Jazz this Tuesday, Dec. 3 at 7 p.m. — their last of four Emirates NBA Cup group stage games.

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