Thunder Suffer Second Straight Blowout Loss, Fall 119-98 to Rockets

The Oklahoma City Thunder have now lost two consecutive games in this new phase of the season in which they're severely undermanned. For the second straight game, they've been dominated by a talented team in the Western Conference, this time falling 119-98 to the Houston Rockets on Saturday night.

Without three starters in Jalen Williams, Cason Wallace and Chet Holmgren, the Thunder simply don't have enough offensive firepower or defensive upside to keep up with talented teams right now.

It showed early in this contest.

The Rockets took control by scoring 35 points in the opening quarter to establish a nine-point lead. Things got even worse in the second quarter, as Houston used an 18-4 run to extend its advantage to more than 20 points before halftime.

Oklahoma City did show some fight throughout the game, cutting into Houston's lead at various points, but the contest never really felt close outside of the opening minutes. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 26 points on 10-of-20 shooting, but didn't get nearly enough help offensively. The reigning MVP also didn't finish the game with the outcome already decided.

Kenrich Williams and Bennett Stirtz each scored 11 points, while Isaiah Joe and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl added 10 apiece. But that simply wasn't enough to keep Oklahoma City competitive. Gilgeous-Alexander didn't have a true secondary scorer in this one, which has become a significant concern for the Thunder given their current injury situation.

Since the injuries arose, Ajay Mitchell had been that guy, but he struggled in this contest. Mitchell finished with just six points on 3-of-9 shooting, leaving Oklahoma City without another reliable offensive option.

As a team, the Thunder shot just 43.5% from the field and 31.3% from beyond the arc, continuing their recent offensive struggles. And with the defense also failing to contain Houston, it was a difficult night from start to finish.

The biggest concern is that this isn't a short-term situation. Williams and Wallace are dealing with potentially season-ending injuries, while Holmgren is expected to miss at least eight to ten weeks with a partially torn patellar tendon. That means Oklahoma City will be without several of its most important players for the foreseeable future.

This is the roster the Thunder have healthy right now, and they'll have to find ways to compete with it.

Oklahoma City is now 4-2 on the season with two consecutive blowout losses, but will have an opportunity to get back into the win column with two upcoming games against the Cleveland Cavaliers.