RED-HOT ROCKETS
VanVleet has season-high 38 to lead Rockets to win over Thunder
Dec 2, 2024, 12:10 pm
Rockets defeat the Thunder, 119-116. Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images.
Fred VanVleet had a season-high 38 points and Dillon Brooks made a go-ahead jump shot late to help the Houston Rockets to a 119-116 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder Sunday night.
The game was tied at 113 when Brooks hit the short jumper in the lane just before the shot clock expired to put the Rockets on top with 33.1 seconds to go.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander missed a shot on the other end and Brooks grabbed the rebound. VanVleet was fouled and made both free throws to make it 117-113 with 4.6 seconds remaining.
Jalen Williams got the Thunder within 1 on a 3-pointer with 2.4 seconds left, but VanVleet made two more free throws to secure the win.
It’s the third straight win for the Rockets and their fifth in the last six games, and it came after Oklahoma City got a 126-107 victory in the first meeting on Nov. 8.
Gilgeous-Alexander had 32 points in his fourth straight 30-point game for the Thunder, whose four-game winning streak was snapped.
Takeaways
Thunder: Isaiah Hartenstein is off to a strong start in his return after missing the first 15 games of the season with a fractured hand. He had 19 points and 13 rebounds on Sunday and has had at least 10 points and 10 rebounds in each of his five games this season.
Rockets: Four of Houston’s starters finished in double figures with Alperen Sengun scoring 20, Brooks with 16 and Jabari Smith Jr. with 15.
Key moment
The shot by Brooks put the Rockets on top 115-113. It came after a jump ball that he won against Gilgeous-Alexander.
Key stat
These teams combined to shoot 64 free throws with Houston going 30 of 39 and Oklahoma City making 19 of 25.
Up next
The Rockets begin a three-game trip at Sacramento Tuesday night, and the Thunder host the Jazz that night.
Houston manager Joe Espada said Thursday injured slugger Yordan Alvarez is getting “really close” to returning to the lineup after sitting out with a hand injury for almost a month.
Alvarez, who has been out since May 3 with right hand inflammation, hit off a pitching machine Thursday before the Astros opened a four-games series with the Tampa Bay Rays.
“He’s getting really close,” Espada said. “This is the best I’ve seen him and this is the best he’s felt. So, really good news.”
Alvarez is scheduled to hit about 50 pitches off minor leaguers Friday as he moves closer to his return. Espada said they’re doing this so he can get game ready without going on a minor league rehabilitation assignment.
“That will be his way to kind of check that box and get ready for games,” Espada said.
The biggest obstacle to getting Alvarez back on the field has been to keep the inflammation away as he’s ramped up his activity.
“I felt good,” Alvarez said in Spanish through a translator after hitting Thursday. “Now I just have to wait to see how the hand reacts to the hitting. So hopefully I can return soon.”
Alvarez said it’s been difficult to be out for so long for an issue that at first was supposed to only keep him out a few days.
“Obviously… it’s been a little bit frustrating being on the IL because of my hand,” he said. “This is not a secret how difficult it is for a hitter to be dealing with hand pain. I’ve played hurt before, but obviously now with inflammation it’s a little bit different.”
He said his time on the injured list has lasted longer than expected because they’re trying to get him completely well so this isn’t something he’s dealing with for the rest of the season.
“This is something delicate,” he said. “I could have returned before but as soon as we saw the hand and how it reacted because of the inflammation, that’s why it’s been a little bit more time than I anticipated.”