Thunder 111, Rockets 91: The Day After Report
Final: Thunder (35-7) def. Rockets (23-15), 111-91
- OKC punked one of the few teams with a chance to match the Thunder's defensive intensity and athletic force, on the road, on national TV.
- Houston threw extra help at Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, forcing him to find teammates through a wall of extra bodies and limbs. His teammates stepped up, making 39.5% of their threes. When OKC makes three-pointers (16-41 last night, compared to 7-24 from Houston), it’s the closest thing to an “easy win” button.
- And despite the "Stop Shai" defensive scheme, SGA scraped together the final 4 of his 20 points at the line in the fourth quarter before checking out. His streak of 20+ continues.
- Jalen Williams (6 points, 10 assists) and Ajay Mitchell (17 points, 3 assists) were effective secondary facilitators.
- I’m to the point where I feel nothing watching Kevin Durant play against the Thunder. One Thunder title and four different KD franchises really change things.
- Houston relies on KD isolation scoring a ton, but OKC didn’t have to send the same emergency, scrambling help to slow him that the Rockets sent at Shai. Durant never got in rhythm, finishing with 19 points on 7-23 shooting.
- The Rockets did pull down an obscene 23 offensive boards, but OKC won the overall total rebounding battle 60-44 and pushed the pace off the rebounds they did corral.
- And OKC stifled most of the Rockets' second and third efforts, anyway, with many of their 12 blocks coming off of Houston offensive boards. A second quarter Rockets possession was emblematic of that dynamic: OKC blocked three Houston shots while they failed to find the rim, let alone the net. A demoralizing shot clock violation resulted:
- Another one: As the Rockets clung to a competitive game in the fourth, OKC kept swatting the ball out of bounds and forced another shot clock violation after several Houston resets:
- Chet Holmgren led the block party once again, facing down a frontcourt of Sengun, Steven Adams, and Durant like it was nothing. 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting, nine rebounds, two steals (!) and four blocks (!!) for Chet.
- He's had some rough patches this season, but we should not take for granted Chet's defense. Jaylin Williams' return has been a boon to OKC playing more fluid and sturdy on both ends, but he is most effective playing off of Chet's terrorizing, nearby presence. Holmgren has no fear against any star matchup, and no problem containing those under 7'5 and 285 lbs.
- My happy place: clanked Durant jumpers and helpless Alperen Sengun (14 pts, 13 rbs, 5 TO) heaves at the buzzer.
One Key Takeaway: The Thunder Never Left
We crashed from the 24-1 sugar high by walking in the shadow of the 6-6 valley of death, when horrible shooting, injury drain, and an increasingly tough schedule all coincided. The Thunder have bounced back to win 9 of their last 11 games–this was their fifth straight–and everyone’s saying they're back. What if they never left?
Last year’s Thunder endured 50 combined absences from Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein over OKC’s first 42 games. They scrapped and rebalanced and recalibrated and redoubled their efforts while establishing their perch as the Not-At-Full-Strength #1 seed. That’s what they’ve been ever since. This year, JDub and iHart have missed 45 combined games over OKC’s first 42. They’re once again the Not-At-Full-Strength #1 seed, but the timing of this season's streaks has had us all vacillating a between “greatest ever?” and “title frauds?!” view of the reigning champs.
OKC is the best team in the league, hands down. OKC is also the best team in the league, multiple starters down. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
