2 min read Recap

Thunder lose to Rockets in frustrating fashion

Thunder lose to Rockets in frustrating fashion
PHOTO⚡THUNDER

HOU 119 OKC 116

The good news: Houston has made Thunder/Rockets a real rivalry. The bad: losing to close rivals can be quite annoying. The Thunder (15-5) couldn't complete a perfect four-game road trip, dropping to the Rockets (15-6) who are now just a half-game behind OKC for #1 in the West.

The annoying: The game got chippy and bogged down by free throws (the teams combined for 64 attempts) in the second half. Naturally, that meant 11 FTA for Shai (25% more than his average) and 14 for Fred Van Vleet (250% more than his average). Lu Dort fouled out. Dylan Brooks was there. You get the drift.

Vorld Vide Vleet scored 38 on the night, hitting three clutch shots to tie or put the Rockets up from the 4:40 to 1:29 stretch of the fourth quarter. He then hit four free throws to put the Thunder away during a failed foul-and-catchup sequence from OKC. The most upsetting seconds of the FVV Show came during a bewildering possession when the Thunder nearly let the clock run down instead of fouling (they must have been sick of the stoppages, too), giving an already-frustrating game an anticlimactic finish.

The not-so-annoying: Shai was great and there were several more bright spots from the developing Jalen Williams/Isaiah Hartenstein tandem.

Next up: The last game of NBA Cup pool play, against Utah at home on Tuesday.

Published by:

Cray Allred

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