Fred VanVleet scored a game-high 38 points, and Dillon Brooks hit a midrange jumper just before the shot clock expired to give the Houston Rockets the lead for good in a 119-116 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday. This game featured the top two teams in the Western Conference.
VanVleet made four free throws in the final 4.6 seconds, tying the season series at one game each and bringing the Rockets within half a game of the Thunder for the top spot in the West. Brooks’ clutch shot with 33.6 seconds left gave the Rockets a 115-113 lead after a chaotic scramble for the ball.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 32 points, while Jalen Williams added 22 points, including a 3-pointer with 2.4 seconds remaining that brought the Thunder within one point. Isaiah Hartenstein recorded a double-double with 19 points and 13 rebounds, and Cason Wallace scored 14 points, hitting two 3-pointers in the final moments to match VanVleet’s late 3-pointers.
The fourth quarter was tight, with seven ties. The Rockets, who were down 93-85 late in the third quarter after Gilgeous-Alexander led a 16-4 run, did not take their first lead in the fourth until VanVleet hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer with 1:29 left. Wallace responded with a 3-pointer from the corner, but the Rockets kept answering back.
Alperen Sengun (20 points, 14 rebounds) and Jabari Smith Jr. (15 points, 14 rebounds) both had double-doubles for the Rockets. Sengun also contributed nine assists, including the assist on Brooks’ crucial jumper.
Aaron Wiggins scored 13 points off the bench for the Thunder.
The Rockets used their strong offensive rebounding to overcome an early five-point deficit. Amen Thompson’s second-chance basket at the 3:38 mark of the first quarter gave Houston a 22-18 lead. Thanks to Brooks’ 10 points, the Rockets were up by eight before Gilgeous-Alexander answered with a 3-pointer to make it 33-28 at the end of the first period.
The Thunder responded with a series of 3-pointers to counter a three-point play by Jalen Green, which had given Houston their biggest lead of 45-34 with 7:58 left in the second quarter.
Kenrich Williams and Luguentz Dort hit consecutive 3-pointers to spark a comeback. Then, Wiggins and Gilgeous-Alexander hit back-to-back 3s to close the gap to four, and the Thunder were only down by two at halftime, 62-60.
