The OKC Thunder saw their four-game win streak come to its bitter end Sunday evening, as they lost on the road against the Houston Rockets by a final score of 119-116.
An absolute barn burner, especially down the stretch, this 48-minute exhibition was filled to the brim with high-end, eye-opening entertainment.
From seven total lead changes to clutch crunch-time plays made by both squads, this top-billed bout between the top two teams out West certainly managed to live up to the hype.
Of course, in the end, it resulted in the Thunder's lead over Houston in the conference standings shrinking down to just half a game. However, this shouldn't be the biggest takeaway from the night.
Instead, it should be the fact that Oklahoma City desperately needs to find a way to address its struggles in the long-range shooting game.
Loss to Rockets reinforces notion that Thunder need more shooters
Last season, the Thunder proved to be one of the best three-point shooting teams in the entire association, finishing their historic campaign off with the best long-range shooting percentage at 38.9.
This mark set the record for the franchise's all-time best deep shooting percentage during their Sooner State tenure.
This season, their production from beyond the arc has taken a major turn for the worse.
While hoisting up the 10-most shots from deep (39.2), through 20 games played in 2024-25 OKC is cashing in on such attempts at just a 34.4 percent clip, which ranks a lackluster 21 in the NBA.
Against Houston, these struggles were on full display, as they shot just 33.3 percent from distance while shooting 39 attempts. Ironically, the game was decided by a mere three points, meaning that had they been able to knock down one or two more three-pointers they would have either had things head to overtime or perhaps even won it outright.
Instead, they found that one of their most glaring weaknesses of the year thus far finally couldn't be overcome, and endured their fifth loss this season.
Now, while a 15-5 record is far from something to scoff at, it's hard to ignore problems such as these, especially when considering they're gunning for an NBA Championship and are seen as one of the favorites to do so.
Over the last decade, the only team to take home the Larry O'Brien Trophy while sporting a sub-35.0 percent shooting clip from deep was the Los Angeles Lakers back in 2019-20.
Clearly, this assortment of talent out in Oklahoma City has shown an inability to convert at a consistent rate which, though it may still be somewhat early in the season, is an area that must be monitored closely moving forward.
Whether by looking toward the trade route for exterior help or having someone like Alex Caruso (shooting a mere 20.5 percent) finally get into a groove, it's evident that the Thunder need more help in the three-point department.