Hitting on a corner 3-pointer, Aaron Holiday put the final nail in the coffin for OKC’s comeback hopes, extending Houston’s lead to a game-high 17 points with a little under eight minutes left.
The Oklahoma City Thunder played catch-up for most of the night and fell to the Houston Rockets, 110-101.
“Credit them, they outplayed us on both ends of the floor,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said on the loss. “I just thought we were a step slow on offense with our attacks. Had a hard time generating rhythm tonight on that end of the floor.”
The first quarter previewed the off night: The Thunder trailed the Rockets, 32-22, after 12 minutes. A late second-quarter run helped cut the deficit to five points entering halftime.
Though they entered the fourth quarter trailing by six, the Thunder’s chances of a comeback evaporated with the Rockets’ 17-6 run, fueled by five 3-pointers, to start the final frame.
The Thunder lost this game from outside. They shot an ugly 8-of-29 (27.6%) from 3. Meanwhile, the Rockets were a sizzling 15-of-33 (45.5%) from deep. Just that area of the game produced a 21-point difference.
Overall, OKC looked sluggish against one of the best defensive teams in the league. It shot 43% from the field.
“We were just a little stagnant,” Aaron Wiggins said on the offense. “Both with the ball at times and individually being in our spots. We got to be able to willing to move to create opportunities for other off-ball.”
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the way for the Thunder with 33 points on 18 shots. The other four Thunder starters combined for 29 points on 10-of-38 shooting.
Meanwhile, the Rockets had a well-balanced scoring attack. Five players scored in double digits. Houston dished 28 assists on 40 buckets. Houston also dominated the boards, 53-30. Jabari Smith Jr. led the way with a career-high 18 rebounds to go along with his six points.
Alperen Sengun had 21 points, seven assists and six rebounds. Dillon Brooks scored 23 points on 9-of-17 shooting. Holiday scored a season-high 22 points and went 6-of-7 from 3 off the bench.
Though it was a nine-point loss, the Thunder never seemed in a groove against the Rockets. OKC managed to cut it to one point in the third quarter, but Houston always answered with runs to keep a healthy distance on the scoreboard.
“We had them in striking distance. It never quite felt like we had control of the game,” Daigneault said. “They were outplaying us and it felt like that … They did a good job at holding us off.”
Let’s look at Thunder player grades.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: B
It was a laissez-faire type of night for Gilgeous-Alexander. He scored 33 points but it felt like the Rockets did a good job at holding him in check.
Overall, Gilgeous-Alexander went 13-of-18 from the floor and produced six assists, six steals and three rebounds in 37 minutes. He shot 7-of-9 from the free-throw line.
The 25-year-old scored 17 points in the second half, but that wasn’t enough.
It feels like nit-picking to criticize Gilgeous-Alexander too much for an efficient 33-point outing. The volume could’ve increased — especially when it was fairly evident early on none of the other starters really had it — but Gilgeous-Alexander is at the bottom of the list of reasons why OKC lost.
Working on both ends ↔️ pic.twitter.com/fNSCmOrwRV
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 7, 2023
Started by the Rook, Finished by the Vet 🤝#ThunderUp | @okcthunder | 📺: BSOK pic.twitter.com/FP4eYfe3Nt
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) December 7, 2023
Continuing to find ways to score pic.twitter.com/evOfUC8PA4
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 7, 2023
Chet Holmgren: C-minus
Holmgren was limited on offense but made his presence known on the other end.
In 26 minutes, Holmgren had a season-low four points on 2-of-9 shooting, five rebounds and six blocks. He went 0-of-4 from 3.
One of his buckets had him spinning over Smith Jr. and finishing at the rack. It was a stylish play the Thunder likely wished happened more often in the loss.
Like the rest of the non-SGA starters, Holmgren couldn’t get anything going against the Rockets. The four points came in the first half; the seven-footer was limited to three minutes in the fourth quarter of a close contest.
Chet spins in pic.twitter.com/VpGMmV7VfV
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 7, 2023
Same move, same result 👏#ThunderUp | @okcthunder | 📺: BSOK pic.twitter.com/2k5w6Vm0p3
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) December 7, 2023
Chet said "No No No" 👆#ThunderUp | @okcthunder | 📺: BSOK pic.twitter.com/K3j0NXznRm
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) December 7, 2023
Tre Mann: B-plus
Mann provided a rare spotlight worthy turn in this otherwise forgettable loss.
In 24 minutes, Mann tallied 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting, four assists, three rebounds and two steals. He went 2-of-4 from 3 and 3-of-4 from the free-throw line.
With the rest of the bench struggling, Mann provided a spark. One of his 3-pointers cut Houston’s lead to one point in the third quarter, the closest OKC drew in the second half.
After a 26-point outing in the G League on Tuesday, Mann carried that momentum into the NBA and had arguably his best game of the season.
After appearing in six games this season, Daigneault rewarded Mann with rotation minutes tonight, and it paid off despite the loss.
“I have a lot of respect for those guys that are working as hard as Tre is working and not getting the immediate playing time for it,” Daigneault said on Mann. “That’s hard to do. … Trying to reward that and see if they can give us a lift and obviously he did that tonight.”
It starts on defense pic.twitter.com/ECj9VMEYq8
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 7, 2023
Scrappy work 2️⃣-3️⃣ pic.twitter.com/NMbjWnVEnv
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 7, 2023
Aaron Wiggins: B
With the starters struggling, Wiggins supplied OKC with solid minutes off the bench.
In 15 minutes, Wiggins had 11 points 4-of-4 shooting and went 3-of-4 from the free-throw line. The third-year wing did most of his scoring near the rim off cuts to the basket.
Josh Giddey was limited to 25 minutes and Lu Dort was limited to 15 minutes, which means plenty of minutes were up for grabs, and Wiggins did a solid job at nabbing some of them.
👌 with the assist pic.twitter.com/0RG3t5WKip
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 7, 2023
