Rockets 116, Thunder 89: Houston closes preseason with a three-point barrage
Houston made 17 threes to Oklahoma City's five in a lopsided preseason finale at Toyota Center.
The Houston Rockets ended their preseason with a 116-89 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder at Toyota Center on Thursday night, October 15. It was Houston's last tune-up before the regular season opens on October 21 at home against the Dallas Mavericks, as the Houston Press noted.
The numbers that decided it
The gap came from beyond the arc. According to a Yahoo Sports game story, Houston shot 17-of-53 on threes (32.1%) while Oklahoma City went 5-of-36 (13.9%), a difference of 12 made threes in a 27-point game. Houston also finished with 34 assists against eight turnovers; the Thunder had 19 assists and 17 turnovers and shot 40.9% overall, the same report says.
The Rockets' bench did much of the damage from deep. Bogdan Bogdanovic, described by the Houston Press as a new addition, went 5-of-8 from three and scored 15 points with six rebounds. Reed Sheppard made three threes and scored 11, and Tari Eason scored 12. Alperen Sengun added 14 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two blocks.
Houston's starters were less sharp from distance in the same Yahoo account: Fred VanVleet went 1-of-9, Jabari Smith Jr. 0-of-5 and Kevin Durant 0-of-4, though Durant still scored 11 points and VanVleet had eight assists. Amen Thompson had 12 points, five rebounds and four assists.
The split between units is the clearest pattern in the Yahoo numbers. Houston's three listed starters from deep, VanVleet, Smith and Durant, combined to go 1-of-18 on threes, while Bogdanovic, Sheppard, Eason, Julian Phillips (2-of-2) and Isaiah Crawford (two made) supplied most of the rest of the 17 makes. Sengun and Thompson, meanwhile, contributed in other ways, with Sengun's two blocks and Thompson's four assists.
Oklahoma City's side
Jalen Williams led the Thunder with 18 points and seven rebounds, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 17 points, going 5-of-5 at the free-throw line. Jared McCain missed all eight of his three-point attempts and Ajay Mitchell missed all four, per Yahoo. Isaiah Hartenstein had six points and eight rebounds, and Aday Mara grabbed nine rebounds.
What it means
Preseason results carry little weight, and neither source says who sat out or how many minutes starters played, so the scoreline should not be read as a statement about either team's regular-season level. What the box score does show is that Houston's second unit shot well and the Thunder's perimeter shooters did not. Both clubs now turn to regular-season openers, with Houston hosting Dallas on October 21.