Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun combined for 65 points and the Houston Rockets rode a scorching second quarter to a 125-111 victory over visiting Oklahoma City on Friday, ending the Thunder’s 11-game winning streak.
Green scored 34 points, Sengun added 31 and the Rockets (51-27) won for the 14th time in 16 games. Houston posted a 48-33 rebounding margin to maintain control after building a 23-point lead late in the second quarter.
Houston’s Amen Thompson posted 16 points, eight rebounds and six assists, while Steven Adams paired eight points with 12 rebounds. Jabari Smith Jr. totaled nine points and 17 boards off the bench.
Jalen Williams paced the Thunder with 33 points on 13-for-21 shooting. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander notched 22 points and eight assists, and Chet Holmgren hit 6 of 8 3-point attempts and scored 20 points for the Thunder (64-13).
The Thunder closed the third quarter on a 12-3 run — Gilgeous-Alexander scored eight during that rally — and shaved the margin to single digits multiple times in the fourth before Green scored on a finger roll layup to push the lead to 11 with 7:09 to play.
The Rockets capped the win with a pair of emphatic plays. Thompson blocked a jumper by Gilgeous-Alexander with 3:27 left, and Sengun’s spin and dunk a minute later pushed the lead to 122-108.
Ball security plagued the Thunder early, with five turnovers in the first quarter yielding 12 points for the Rockets. Gilgeous-Alexander led a rally that pulled the Thunder to within 25-22, but with Green and Sengun combining for 25 points in the frame, Houston carried a 35-28 lead into the second.
Houston seized control early in the second behind when Adams made a block on Isaiah Hartenstein and scored two second-chance baskets, to extend to a 52-37 lead. The margin reached 69-46 on Smith’s 3-pointer, before the Thunder scored the final seven points of the half.
The Rockets hit 6 of 11 shots from long range in the second quarter plus 19 fastbreak points in the half. Sengun and Thompson scored eight each in the second.
–Field Level Media
