The OKC Thunder never had a chance Monday night as the Houston Rockets cruised to a 136-106 victory behind a franchise record 28 3-point buckets – one shy of the NBA record of 29 3-pointers set by the Milwaukee Bucks in December.
It was ugly from the tip, with the OKC Thunder quickly falling behind 21-4.
By the end of the first quarter, the Thunder were trailing by 24. It never really got any better for Oklahoma City, either, as the Rockets soared and never looked back.
OKC Thunder flattened at home against Rockets
Just a few days after James Harden and his new team shellacked the Thunder, the now Harden-less Rockets did the same.
Houston didn’t need Harden and have actually experienced a resurgence without him. The team shot a blistering 53.8 percent from 3-point range, making almost as many shots from deep as the Thunder attempted (34).
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the way for the Thunder, scoring 19 points on 53 percent shooting. He also finished with five assists, two rebounds, two blocks, and one steal, but his five turnovers dampened an otherwise solid performance.
Darius Bazley finished with 15 points on 46 percent shooting, and Hamidou Diallo added another 15 points on 85.7 percent shooting.
The Thunder are doing well enough offensively, but OKC seems to fall apart when it comes to defense. That’s why the team’s defense, or lack thereof, leads TI’s 3 takeaways.
OKC Thunder takeaway No. 1) defensive shortcomings are holding this team back
The Thunder’s offensive woes aren’t as glaring as their defensive struggles.
Offensively, the Thunder are doing a pretty good job of getting to the bucket or hitting their shots beyond the arc. Luguentz Dort is the only exception, as the once-hot sophomore is shooting just 28 percent from the floor in his last five games.
Over the last four games, the Thunder have even done well at the free-throw line, averaging just over 25 free throws per game and converting around 74 percent.
The Thunder have posted a 109.4 offensive rating over the last five games. For comparison, OKC is within a five-point range of the next best 13 teams. However, defensively, the Thunder are in the bottom two with a defensive rating of 119.4.
Only the Portland Trail Blazers are worse at 121.3.
The last two games have been particularly telling, with the Thunder giving up a whopping 147 points to the Brooklyn Nets and 136 to the Rockets on Monday night.
It doesn’t help that those two games were played in Oklahoma City, where the Thunder are just 1-7 this season.
The team’s home court trouble is TI’s next takeaway.