Thunder suffocates Rockets' offense with relentless defense, sealing another dominant win against a top Western Conference team.
The Oklahoma City Thunder appear to be all the way back after going through a slump around Christmas, with the most recent victory coming Thursday night against the Houston Rockets. This was the second straight game in which Oklahoma City dominated a Western Conference contender, coming right on the heels of a win over the San Antonio Spurs earlier this week. The Thunder has now won nine of its last 11 games since Christmas, and at this point, it feels fair to say Oklahoma City is absolutely back on track overall.
The 111-91 win in Houston was a game fueled by defense, and it looked like a Thunder team that has fully reconnected with its identity. The Rockets have real offensive weapons, with Alperen Sengun at the center of what they want to do and an athletic group of perimeter scorers around him, led by Kevin Durant, but Houston’s offense never found any consistent rhythm. Oklahoma City played aggressively and physically, and the collective intensity really popped, especially as the game progressed. The Rockets were uncomfortable, the shot quality was shaky, and you could feel how much Oklahoma City’s defensive pressure was dictating what Houston was able to run.
Interestingly enough, the Thunder did get dominated on the boards and allowed a significant amount of second-chance opportunities, which is typically the kind of thing that can swing a road game. Houston had extra chances, and the rebounding battle was not a clean look for Oklahoma City, but the Rockets still couldn’t take advantage of it because the Thunder made the actual scoring part so difficult. Even with those additional possessions, Houston’s offense stayed in a rut because of how physical the Thunder was at the point of attack, how quickly OKC rotated behind it, and how connected the defense looked as a unit.
Offensively, it wasn’t Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s best night, but he still led the team in scoring with 20 points and did what he always does best, controlling the game. From there, it was a balanced distribution that reflected how the Thunder has been winning lately. Chet Holmgren finished with 18, Ajay Mitchell added 17, and Lu Dort chipped in 13. Jalen Williams only scored six points, but he impacted the game as a playmaker and finished with 10 assists, consistently making the right read to keep Oklahoma City’s offense organized even when the scoring wasn’t coming from him.
The biggest swing in this game, though, was the way Oklahoma City closed. The third quarter has been the frame in which this Thunder team often puts its foot on the gas, and Houston did have stretches where it felt like the game could turn into more of a grind heading into the fourth.
But Thursday night flipped in the final frame. The Thunder won the fourth quarter 34-16, and that was the moment when Oklahoma City fully separated and made it crystal clear who was in control. The defense ramped up again, the Rockets couldn’t get anything easy, and the Thunder turned a competitive night into a blowout finish.
From here, Oklahoma City will travel to Miami to take on the Heat for the second time this week, but this time it’ll be on the road on Saturday night. If the Thunder continues to defend with this level of aggression and physicality, this post-Christmas stretch is starting to look less like a hot streak and more like the Thunder returning to what it is supposed to be.