Thunder 106, Rockets 112: The Day After Report

Box Score | Play-by-Play

Nuggets & Notes

• The Oklahoma City Thunder was a little bit healthier for its afternoon showdown against the Houston Rockets. Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein returned to the lineup, but Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Ajay Mitchell remained out.
• A midafternoon tilt on national TV, the crowd was amped for this one. Houston came out hot to start to try the quiet the crowd, but the Thunder kept it close until, OKC had one of its characteristic runs in the second quarter to build a 15-point lead. Hot shooting, suffocating defense, and all of the sudden, the Thunder looked like it could roll to win no. 40.
• After taking that 49-34 lead in the second, the Rockets came roaring back to tie the game at 54 early in the third. That's right, the Rockets went on a 20-5 run to turn this one into a nail biter.
• Quite simply, while the OKC defense did a solid job of wreaking havoc (15 forced turnovers, 10 steals), the Houston defense did an even better job against the Thunder (17 forced turnovers, 12 steals, 27 points scored off turnovers).
• Mark Daigneault did a nice job of adjusting to life without a true point guard/ballhandler, as the offensive movement was much better than San Antonio. Especially in the first half, OKC kept getting backdoor cuts as Isaiah Hartenstein served as a facilitator. But Houston shut that down beginning with their 20-5 run and into second half.
• There were quite a few standout performances on the OKC side, starting with Cason Wallace. Wallace scored 23 points on 10-of-16 and was actually a key cog in the Thunder offense. Normally, Wallace is a bit player on that side of the ball, used mostly as a spot-up shooter with the occasional opportunity to attack the basket. But yesterday offense was often running through and for Wallace.
• There's a real potential that unlocking Wallace could pay dividends for the team, especially without so much offensive firepower. At same time, Wallace is a little raw in that role.
• Now, Isaiah Joe. Joe dropped 21 points, but what stood out to me was how hard he was playing. Joe was everywhere. Offensively, defensively, Joe was more like a double shot of espresso than being as Michael Cage would say, "a hot cup of Joe".
• Chet had yet another double double, 17 points, 14 rebounds. Holmgren was solid and steady, but without SGA and J-Dub, I'm hoping we see Chet get even more aggressive offensively.
• So back to Isaiah Hartenstein. On this Super Bowl weekend, Hart gave sports fans a nice preview of what stellar quarterback play looks like. Hart had a career-high 11 assists (8 in the first half). I know Nikola Jokic gets a lot of credit for his passing, but Hartenstein's vision coupled with his ability to pass guys open is something special.
• The plus/minus numbers are wild, especially among the starting 5. Hartenstein was a +11, while Lu Dort was -20 and Aaron Wiggins was a -24. Off the bench, Joe led OKC with a +18, and Jared McCain was a +12 in just 14 minutes.
• McCain made his Thunder debut in the second to a rousing ovation. Thunder fans aren't casuals. They know who's been traded, who's new, and know how to give a newcomer a hearty welcome.
• Not surprisingly, McCain was still figuring out his place, but he had a nice midrange jumper and a big three pointer. He also helped open up the lane with spacing as a true three-point threat.
• NBA casuals love to hate on the Thunder (and Shai in particular) for being supposed foul baiters and floppers. But goodness gracious, Alperen Sengun looks like fish on dry land sometimes. In a wild sequence, Sengun turned and rammed his face into Hartenstein, flopped on the ground, and before laying there like a dead man. With OKC pushing the ball up the court, the refs stopped play to look at whether Hart was guilty of a flagrant foul. Bonkers.
• All in all, this one was both encouraging and frustrating. I think this is one OKC would like a do-over on. It could have, maybe should have, won. But with the margin for error so small without a reliable scorer, you simply cannot turn the ball over 17 times, give up 27 points off turnovers, and miss 10 free throws.

One Key Takeaway

Losers of two straight, and just 16-12 since that 24-1 start, the Thunder's lead over the second place San Antonio Spurs is down to just 3.5 games. In a tough part of the schedule without so many playmakers, it's not impossible to imagine that the Thunder lose its lead.

The Nuggets, with Jokic back in the lineup, are 6 games back, and then the Rockets, Wolves, Lakers, and Suns are all clustered together just behind. Now, I don't want to get too alarmist, but if OKC can't get healthy, and plays without SGA, JDub, and Ajay well past the All Star break, we could see the Thunder drop rapidly in the standings.