Stationed in the left corner spot, Chet Holmgren drilled a 3-pointer off a Shai Gilgeous-Alexander pass. The bucket capped off a monster second half for OKC. It’s only fitting the seven-foot rookie hit the dagger after a nuclear fourth quarter.
The Oklahoma City Thunder overcame a 16-point deficit to come away with a 123-110 win over the Houston Rockets. This was their league-leading 16th double-digit comeback of the season.
“We cut into (the deficit) and were able to get it to a safe spot at halftime,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said on the win. “And then the guys did a great job at coming out of the half, showed great persistence — obviously, Houston shot it well early. But we got really on track physically and I was impressed with the way we did that.”
The early returns of this contest looked eerily similar to the Thunder’s previous visit to Houston this season. It looked like OKC would lay another egg at the Rockets with a poor showing.
The Rockets had a 34-31 advantage following the first quarter. By halftime, Houston’s lead grew to 62-57 which included owning a lead as high as 16 points in the opening two quarters.
The second half featured the Thunder finally exorcising their Houston demons with a dominant defensive performance that slowly chipped away at the scoreboard. A massive fourth-quarter run decisively turned this game in their favor.
The Thunder outscored the Rockets, 30-21, in the third quarter to enter the final frame with an 87-83 lead. OKC went on a commanding 20-7 run in the second half to open up a 14-point lead a little over three minutes into the final frame.
Holmgren was the catalyst of this run as he scored nine straight points for OKC to start the fourth quarter. The Rockets had no answer for the seven-foot center, who turned into a scoring machine both inside and outside.
The closest the Rockets got the rest of the way was within eight points before OKC responded with a quick 9-0 run to put this one away. The Thunder’s 36-point fourth quarter turned a double-digit deficit to a double-digit win for them.
Overall, OKC shot 47% from the field and went 17-of-35 (48.6%) from 3. It went 14-of-15 from the free-throw line. It also dished out 30 assists on 46 baskets.
Gilgeous-Alexander tallied 36 points on 23 shots to lead the Thunder in scoring. Holmgren had 29 points, eight rebounds and seven assists with 19 points in the fourth quarter. Jalen Williams scored 22 points and Lu Dort had 16 points.
“I thought (he) played with great recognition,” Daigneault said on Holmgren. “We continue to do a better and better job at finding him when he’s open for three and when he’s around the basket.”
Meanwhile, the Rockets shot 41% from the field and went 16-of-41 (39%) from 3. Houston held an advantage at the free-throw line over OKC, going 18-of-23.
Jabari Smith Jr. led the way with a monster 20-point and 17-rebound double-double. Alperen Sengun struggled through foul trouble and was limited to 19 points and 12 rebounds. Fred VanVleet had 20 points.
This was an impressive win for the Thunder, who’ve struggled in Houston recently. This comeback win snapped a five-game losing streak at Toyota Center for OKC. It has now won 40 games before 20 losses, an impressive mark that’s been used as a barometer for serious contenders.
But considering what they’ve done this season, that’s been evident for quite a while now for the Thunder. A 40-17 record — with the 40th win being a gutted-out performance — is only additional affirmation of that.
“We had some poise but it was more urgency. I thought tonight was a recognition of if we kept playing like that, they could’ve just run us off the floor,” Daigneault said on their double-digit comeback. “Our urgency ticked up and we go nastier and tougher and more tight and together on the defensive end of the floor.”
Let’s look at Thunder player grades.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: A-plus
Hitting on a 3-pointer, Gilgeous-Alexander joined in on OKC’s avalanche during its flurry run in the fourth quarter with a little under four minutes left.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 36 points on 13-of-23 shooting, seven assists, five rebounds and three steals. He shot 8-of-9 from the free-throw line. It was another dominant performance for the 25-year-old.
With the Thunder offense struggling in the first half, Gilgeous-Alexander carried the load until his teammates found a rhythm in the second half. He totaled 18 points in the opening two quarters.
The second half was much the same — he scored 12 points in the third quarter during OKC’s comeback. The Rockets had no answer for the MVP candidate as Amen Thompson and Dillon Brooks drew mixed results defending him.
“It feels good, means we got better as a team, as individuals,” Gilgeous-Alexander said on getting their 40th win. “It’s definitely a plus.”
Step-back Shai 💦#ThunderUp | @okcthunder | @BallySports 📺 pic.twitter.com/l1gZvg2nwP
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) February 26, 2024
Spinnin' Shai 🌪️#ThunderUp | @okcthunder | @BallySports 📺 pic.twitter.com/i0F2sqnDDo
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) February 26, 2024
Chet rejects it 🚫 ➡️ Shai converts it 😤 pic.twitter.com/0KJLS2d52D
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) February 26, 2024
Dimes and denials ↔️ pic.twitter.com/uBQna6YkRQ
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) February 26, 2024
Making plays on both ends 🫡 pic.twitter.com/uI8mq38wUX
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) February 26, 2024
Chet Holmgren: A-plus
Rolling towards the basket, Holmgren caught Williams’ pass and slammed it down for the empathetic alley-oop to start the fourth quarter. The seven-footer then pulled up from the rim in celebration. The quick two-man action previewed the monstrous final frame the rookie center would enjoy.
In a four-point contest, Holmgren rattled off the first nine points for OKC in the fourth quarter. The variety of buckets was as exciting as the run itself — the 21-year-old did it on alley-oops, 3-pointers, putbacks and dunks.
Overall, Holmgren had one of his best outings of the season. He totaled 29 points on 11-of-16 shooting, eight rebounds, seven assists and three blocks. He shot 5-of-8 from 3.
Holmgren joins Kevin Durant as the only other Thunder player to register these numbers. He also broke the Thunder rookie record for most points in a fourth quarter.
19 of his points came in the final frame as he went inferno in Houston during the most crucial part of the game. This included the dagger 3-pointer to ice out any faint hopes of a Rockets comeback.
“I feel like in the fourth as a team, we came out aggressive, came out kinda as a collective,” Holmgren said. “The game was flowing our way.”
This was a much better game compared to his first visit to Houston this season, where he scored a season-low four points. The 21-year-old showed off his scoring potential as a shot-making seven-footer who can score at all three levels.
On defense, he anchored a stout performance by the Thunder. OKC outscored Houston in the paint, 46-36. Sengun — Holmgren’s counterpart — had a quiet night and never took over.
“I’ve always been the skinnier guy,” Holmgren said on dealing with physicality. “Somebody trying to play that game I guess isn’t gonna make me switch up my game. I’ve figured out how to find the right balance.”
This was an awesome game by Holmgren that was headlined by his monster fourth quarter that single-handedly sealed the fate with hot shooting.
“They had some breakdowns, we got some easy looks and that kinda got us flowing,” Holmgren said on the win. “I still think it started with defense. Getting stops, allowing us to get in transition and stuff.”
Sunday stepback 👌 pic.twitter.com/S9eNOWIv21
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) February 26, 2024
Strip and score to start the third 👌 pic.twitter.com/Z3MB5H7lfh
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) February 26, 2024
Chet rejects another one 😎#ThunderUp | @okcthunder | @BallySports 📺 pic.twitter.com/PLTAgTelH9
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) February 26, 2024
Right out the gates 🔨 pic.twitter.com/xE81Yjy5eC
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) February 26, 2024
Cason 🔍 Chet pic.twitter.com/IHf5qhsVvb
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) February 26, 2024
https://t.co/HZDxpgmeQD pic.twitter.com/WIEqmNgnhN
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) February 26, 2024
Jalen Williams: B-plus
Williams was the Thunder’s third 20-point scorer. He finished with 22 points on 9-of-22 shooting, five assists and four rebounds in 36 minutes.
The second-year wing’s biggest contribution happened in the second quarter.
As it felt OKC was letting go of the rope as Houston built up a 16-point lead, Williams scored 10 points in the frame to avoid disaster and make it a single-digit deficit entering the break.
Williams usually takes over the fourth quarter, but he instead continued to feed the ball to the hot Holmgren, who couldn’t miss to start the frame. The duo linked for a pair of buckets to turn the tide.
“Me and Dub have kinda gotten it rolling for a while now,” Holmgren said on his alley-oops. “… Just continuing to trust it — even if it doesn’t work out.
Dub pushes the pace to beat the buzzer 🚨 pic.twitter.com/iQxD1fRYho
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) February 26, 2024
Getting to his spot pic.twitter.com/ctGLeetRaJ
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) February 26, 2024
In synch 🛜@OGandE Power Play of the Game pic.twitter.com/0iYc5pdTwA
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) February 26, 2024
Lu Dort: B-plus
The opening minutes of the contest were rough as both the Thunder and Rockets couldn’t buy a bucket. After the Rockets finally got the wheels turning midway through the period, OKC relied on Dort for early scoring.
Dort scored 11 of his 16 points in the first quarter. He was an underrated contributor to this win, as his early hot scoring helped the Thunder avoid digging a massive hole on the scoreboard from the get-go.
The 24-year-old shot 4-of-6 from 3 and limited Green to 11 points on 13 shots. VanVleet was also held to just 20 points on 16 shots. Dort was excellent for OKC on both ends of the floor in this much-needed win.
🎯🎯🎯 pic.twitter.com/Mfs6OkHJPk
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) February 26, 2024
