Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports Rockets start off fast but bad shooting and turnovers were too much to overcome as the Rockets fall to the Thunder. The Houston Rockets came into Sunday's game vs the Oklahoma City Thunder after one of their best wins of 2024 over the Phoenix Suns. Compared to the road, the Rockets at home have been night and day. Coming into Sunday's game, the Rockets were 20-9 at home and only 5-22 away from H-town, which is second worst in the entire NBA. The Thunder have taken the next step this season, going from a fringe playoff team to contending for the top seed in the Western Conference at 39-17. Of course, the Thunder are led by All-Star and MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. He is the main reason the Thunder think their time as one of the best teams in the league has come earlier than most people expected. We also got an update on Tari Eason from Ime Udoka during his pregame press conference. Coach Udoka was asked about the delay in an update about Eason's injury and if there had been a second opinion. Here is Coach Udoka with an update on Tari Eason and if they have gotten a second opinion.“Probably second,third, or 4th” pic.twitter.com/uMXiXTc9wB— Lachard Binkley (@BinkleyHoops) February 25, 2024 There is no official word, but that is usually not a good sign when there is no update on a possible return. Udoka said we will know more shortly. Both teams open the game missing several shots before Lou Dort knocked down a three-pointer a couple of minutes in. Alperen Sengun got the Rockets on the board with a three to tie the game up. Houston’s three-point shooting had improved the last couple of weeks, and it continued early in the game as the Rockets started 5-for-8 from deep. Houston took a four-point lead at 24-20 with under five minutes left in the first quarter. Cam Whitmore checked in the game and, like he has all season, immediately put points on the board as he knocked down a three-pointer and finished the fast break with a dunk. Houston’s offense was firing on all cylinders as they took a 34-31 lead into the second quarter. The Rockets’ bench continued the team's hot offensive start as Thompson and Whitmore helped push the lead to 41-31 three minutes into the quarter. Houston expanded the lead to 15 as they made 11 of their first 21 three-pointers. The Thunder would start to chip away at the lead as they went on a 7-0 run to cut the lead down to eight with under three minutes left. The Thunder would eventually cut the lead down the five as the Rockets took a 62-57 advantage into halftime. The Thunder continued the comeback to start the second half as they were able to cut the lead down to 64-62. Udoka even called a timeout a minute into the half after the Rockets gave up an easy basket. It didn't get much better from there as the Rockets had their lowest scoring quarter of the game and the Thunder took a 87-83 lead into the fourth quarter. Thunder continued to pull away as the Rockets offense was no where to be found. The Rockets started 11-for-21 from the three-point line and then missed 9 of their next 11 three-point attempts. After another wide open three-pointer the Thunder extended to their biggest lead of the game at 14 points 99-85. Chet Holmgren, who had been quiet for most of the night, took over in the fourth quarter, tying a rookie franchise record scoring 16 points in the fourth quarter. The Rockets continued to miss from beyond the arc and the Thunder continued to hold onto their 14-point lead. The Rockets’ lack of shooting was the nail in the coffin as Houston never got back in the game. They were outscored 66-49 in the second half as the Thunder cruised to an easy victory 123-110. The Rockets also had 18 turnovers to the Thunder’s 9 as OKC turned up the defensive intensity after the first quarter. After the game, I asked both Coach Udoka and Alperen Sengun about teams agressively double teaming Sengun and trying to take him out of the game. Here I asked Coach Udoka how they prefer Sengun to react to the double team that he sees a lot more often than earlier in the season
“I think be patient understand you’re going to draw that crowd bait them to get some open looks”https://t.co/dNSFCoRaD1 pic.twitter.com/aiqyxzPPPa— Lachard Binkley (@BinkleyHoops) February 26, 2024 I asked Sengun about the adjustments he has had to make with teams double teaming him aggressively and a lot more often
“They know me right now they know my moves so they are coming early” Went on to say he has to find the shooters. pic.twitter.com/3K5iVodScz— Lachard Binkley (@BinkleyHoops) February 26, 2024 Teams are sending double teams twoard Sengun earlier and more often than at the start of the season as opposing coaches realize the Rockets are not a good three-point shooting team. They force the Rockets to beat them from the arc and more times than not lately, they have not been able to do it. That is one of the biggest reasons why the Rockets have not won back-to-back games since the beginning of January. The Rockets now hit the road for a three-game road trip. First game of the trip is Tuesday vs. the same Thunder team. The Rockets then travel to Phoenix for two more against the Suns, who they just defeated on Friday night. For the full press conference check out the Rocket Fuel YouTube page.
Source: https://www.thedreamshake.com/2024/2/26 ... t-holmgren