Three Takeaways from the OKC Thunder's Three-Point Loss to the Houston Rockets

Oklahoma City fell shy against Houston on Sunday night, falling to 15-5 on the season.

Dec 1, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr. (10) reacts after the end of the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The Oklahoma City Thunder lost its Sunday night contest to the Houston Rockets 119-116 in the teams' first meeting against each other this season. With Houston's win, the Rockets creep closer to OKC in the first spot in the West, now sitting just one game behind the Thunder.

Behind Fred VanVleet's season-high in points, 39 free throw attempts and a couple crazy heaves falling down at the end of the game, the Rockets walked away with this one.

Let's take a look at three takeaways from the Thunder's narrow loss:

Fred VanVleet Erupts

VanVleet went off in a flurry on Sunday night, coming into the night to post a career-high in points and anchoring the Rockets with 38 points and five treys.

Two of those threes came in the final three minutes of the game, and making 13-of-14 free throws on the night saw him sink several free throws at the end of the game to close out Oklahoma City and eclipse them by just three.

Following two overtime victories, Houston edging out the Thunder is a win to hang this team's hat on.

Houston Shoots 39 Times at the Stripe

On a night riddled with referee involvement, the Rockets found themselves living at the charity stripe.

WIth 28 free throw tries combined between VanVleet, Alperen Sengun and Jalen Green, Houston put up 39 attempts from the line---making 30 of them. The Thunder shot 25 of its own and made 19, disrupting the flow of the game and leaving the game to be decided by free throws.

The Rockets capitalized on 76.9% of their tries at a higher clip and rate than the Thunder, as Oklahoma City's loss can partially be attributed to missing six of their lesser attempts at the stripe.

Isaiah Hartenstein is Here to Stay

If it wasn't already apparent, Isaiah Hartenstein is here---and he has no plans to leave.

The Thunder's lone healthy big man has made his mark in the first several outings he's had, averaging 15.2 points and 13.8 rebounds as well as 1.6 blocks thus far this season. Hartenstein had a similar output in the loss to the Rockets, posting 19 points, 13 rebounds and a block to help hold down the fort on the interior.

Hartenstein was a wonderful pickup for this team, and he's certainly something to be excited about in spite of Chet Holmgren's injury.

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