Rockets beat Thunder in OT to keep Play-In hopes alive: 'We fought for that one'
"It’s hard to do in the NBA," says Rockets coach Ime Udoka of the win streak. "Guys are proud of that effort, well deserved." The Houston Rockets beat the Thunder 132-126 in overtime to keep their Play-In hopes alive. The game was marked by intense competition, with both teams engaged in physicality and intensity. The Rockets, who dominated the game, had a nine-game winning streak and were without their MVP candidate, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Despite the Thunder's strong home record, Houston's dominance was threatened by a seven-point lead with three minutes to go. The victory keeps the Rockets' hopes alive in their quest to make the postseason by way of the Play-in Tournament. The team has been struggling to maintain a winning streak of 10 games, with 10 consecutive games without an immediate plan and seven games under.500.
Published : a month ago by Kelly Iko in Sports
OKLAHOMA CITY — For five nerve-wracking minutes, the crescendo of emotion came in waves.
With each overtime dagger the Rockets threw, the Paycom Center, the stomping grounds of the best team in the Western Conference, was reduced to equal parts shock, dismay and confusion.
“Booom!” the bench erupted in unison, hanging on the edge of their seats as Dillon Brooks hit his third triple of the night and his second in 24 seconds.
For 48 minutes, both teams engaged in as physical of a chess match en route to a 132-126 Rockets win in overtime. The Thunder, without their MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, used a timely contribution of elite bench play (46 combined points from Isaiah Joe, Aaron Wiggins and Gordon Hayward) and defensive scheme versatility to force the Rockets to halt their blistering pace, while also producing a battering ram in the restricted area at the other end of the floor.
The Rockets, who set the tone from the first quarter forcing six turnovers and holding Oklahoma City to 26.3 percent shooting, carried that aggression all evening. They focused on rookie Chet Holmgren at every turn, holding him to two points at the time before he fouled out. Houston showed patience and persistence, finding pockets of space to attack frequent zone looks, and using ball movement and pace to exploit the dunker’s spot routinely.
When the buzzer sounded at the end of regulation the score was tied at 112 and it didn’t matter that the Thunder’s dominant home record was being threatened. The Rockets entered the game with a nine-game winning streak. It didn’t matter that one team was fixated on a deep playoff run and the other was fighting for the right to join the postseason. All that mattered was who wanted it more.
“Booom!” the bench and coaching staff, now all on their feet, yelled as Jabari Smith Jr.’s 3 dropped with three minutes to go, giving them a seven-point lead that wouldn’t be threatened again.
Houston emerged victorious, the elation carried them as they ducked under the tunnel, away from the stunned crowd. In their quest to make the postseason by way of the Play-In Tournament, the Rockets’ margin for error, especially as the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers continue to win, is thin.
“Roadkill! Roadkill!” assistant coach Royal Ivey bellowed with a wide grin as he headed for the locker room.
Enough hugs to go around, high fives, and even a smile from head coach Ime Udoka. The Rockets — players, coaches, team staffers and even the front office and ownership — all convened in the adjacent visitor’s space to revel in the victory. Udoka brought up the most important play of the evening — the drive from Jalen Green which led to a kick-out pass to a Smith corner triple with 21 seconds remaining in regulation. It was a sequence that displayed all of the ingredients Houston had been cooking with during this 10-game run: pace from Amen Thompson, decision-making from Green and trust in Smith even though he had yet to hit an outside shot all night.
“It was lit,” Green said postgame. “Everybody was happy, celebrating, screaming. We fought for that one, worked hard. That’s how we should react after a game. We gonna celebrate our wins.”
“I didn’t have the pain of the last three years with all the losing,” Udoka added. “It means a lot to them, obviously, myself as well. Ten in a row is 10 in a row, regardless of if Shai (Gilgeous-Alexander) is out or whatever the case may be. It’s hard to do in the NBA. Guys are proud of that effort, well deserved. The last three years — 17, 19, 22 wins — that’s the reaction you’re going to get when you put 10 together in a row.”
It’s apparent how much this moment means to them. It’s been years since games seemed to matter this much or have this effect. Not too long ago the Rockets looked as if they were without an immediate plan, sitting seven games under .500 and stuck in limbo. This group, quickly assembled during the offseason, could have given up and looked toward the future, especially after losing starting center and leading scorer Alperen Şengün to injury.
But trust, the operative word recently, once again manifested itself. Green has been the fulcrum of this recent Rockets revival and once again he answered the call, scoring 37 points on 24 shots (7-for-11 from deep) to go along with 10 rebounds and seven assists. Green’s game has ascended and to see him with the ball in his hands down the stretch make correct reads — in addition to key defensive stops in crunch time — bodes well for his future.
But this wasn’t a one-person job. The Rockets don’t pull this off without Thompson pulling down 15 rebounds and scoring 25 points, functioning as Houston’s center in the middle of an aggressive Thunder zone. This doesn’t happen without 20 points from Brooks, or Fred VanVleet’s leadership down the stretch. It doesn’t happen without timely two-way contributions from Smith and the veterans.
But relationships don’t grow overnight and there have been ups and downs throughout the season thus far. But with time this group has found a way to make it work.
“It grew,” Brooks said of the trust. “It grew a lot. Especially during this run and this month. We trust each other, got a goal in mind and we’re all bought in.”
Udoka continues to stress that his team, while aware of the Western Conference standings, doesn’t sit around discussing the possibilities of making the Play-In Tournament. The Warriors (38-34) in 10th have won two games on the bounce and the Lakers (41-32) have won five in a row. Over the next two-and-a-half weeks, the Rockets will need some help to see this through. They’ll also need to overcome some particularly tricky opponents, with the Mavericks, Clippers, Timberwolves, Heat and Magic left on their schedule.
But even if they don’t, this season should be seen through the lens of success. They’re a franchise that has toiled at the bottom of most statistical categories for years and is now a top 10 unit on both sides of the ball this month with the best net rating in the NBA, per Cleaning the Glass. This team has learned to compete for 48 minutes at a time, understanding the importance of establishing a defensive identity while realizing the difficulties of offensive consistency. They’re not afraid to mix it up, much to the delight of Udoka (and Brooks) but at its core, the Rockets are ready to dig in their heels for whatever comes their way, a mentality that will carry them in the future.
“It’s amazing,” Brooks told The Athletic of Houston’s new approach. “That’s all I wanted to do. It took time, which we knew. Having that aggressiveness on the offensive and defensive end is what we need to win games.”
Topics: Basketball, NBA, Oklahoma City Thunder