Desert Storm: Rockets Fall to Thunder, 111-96, in NBA Cup Semis
Out of Steam. National Humbling. Break 4 Cup.
Houston trailed by only one point entering halftime, but the squad ran out of steam after the break, as the Rockets were throttled by the Thunder, 111-96, and bounced from the NBA Cup on Saturday night in the Semifinals. Oklahoma City will move on to play the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA Cup Championship Game on Tuesday night. Despite having six players in double-figures, Houston couldn’t keep up with OKC in the second half. Amen Thompson led the Rockets in scoring with 19 points on a night no one really had it going for Houston. Despite scoring 13 points and grabbing 11 rebounds, Alperen Sengun struggled mightily, especially with ball control. Sengun had way too many turnovers that led to easy points for the Thunder.
OKC served out a dish of national humbling to the Rockets on Saturday night. The squad shouldn’t let this loss get them down, Houston just isn’t on OKC’s level yet, and that’s why the first-place Thunder have a healthy four game lead in the loss column in the West. And we’re not even a third of the way into the season yet. This OKC team is dangerous, and when Chet Holmgren returns from injury they will be serious title contenders. The Rockets were essentially dominated by only four OKC players in this game. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Lugentz Dort combined to score 92 of the Thunder’s 111 points. That’s a whopping 83% of OKC’s total score, led by SGA’s 32 points. Regardless, the Rockets should still be proud of being one of only four teams out of thirty to advance to Las Vegas.
If there’s any silver linings from this loss, Houston will now have four consecutive days off. So they should be well rested, and ready to beat the struggling New Orleans Pelicans, who are currently in last place in the Western Conference. That’s as long as they don’t overlook New Orleans. Any team can win any night in the NBA. And if the Rockets focus on the Pelicans’ record, they could be in store for a disappointing return home on Thursday night. For now, the squad needs to rest up, as some guys like Fred VanVleet and Steven Adams are a little banged up, and could use the extra time to replenish and rest their bodies. Houston has an easy schedule coming up in terms of their opponents’ records. If the Rockets play hard in each game, they should be on winning streak in time for Christmas.