Rockets Fall to Thunder, 112-95, for Second Straight Game
Out of Pace. Second Quarter Struggles. Going West.
For the second game in a row, the Rockets were outmatched and overpowered by the Thunder, en route to a 112-95 defeat. Alperen Sengun led Houston with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Jabari Smith Jr. contributed another double-double against, OKC, adding 18 points and 13 boards. However, the Thunder had too much firepower for the Rockets to contend with. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the way once again with 31 points on Tuesday night. Chet Holmgren supplied 18 points and 13 rebounds, while Jalen Williams added 24 points for OKC.
Houston actually led this contest after the first period, but a dismal second quarter gave the Thunder control of this game. The Rockets were outscored 32-21 in the second period, and couldn’t muster a fight to cut the deficit in the second half. These squads will square off one more time in late March, and so far OKC has the 2-1 season series edge over the Rockets after taking these last two games.
Up next for Houston, the squad heads west to the desert where they’ll face the Suns for two straight games in Phoenix to close out this road trip. The Rockets beat the Suns six days ago, but that was back in Houston. Garnering a victory in the valley of the sun will likely prove to be more difficult for this young Rockets squad. Hopefully they can steal one of the next two games, improving which has so far been a terrible showing on the road this season.