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.
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Joe Mixon ran the Houston Texans to another win Sunday to help them go into their bye on a high note.
Mixon bounced back from his worst performance of the season to rush for 101 yards and a touchdown to lead the Texans to a 23-20 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
It was just Houston’s second win in the past five games and helped the first-place Texans (8-5) remain two games up in the AFC South.
The game was tied at 6-6 in the third quarter when a 7-yard TD run by Mixon put the Texans on top for good. The Jaguars cut it to three late, but Mixon's 8-yard carry on third-and-4 allowed Houston to run out the clock for the win.
The performance came after he had a season-low 22 yards rushing in a loss to the Titans at home.
Quarterback C.J. Stroud said Mixon has been invaluable to not only the team, but to him personally in his first year in Houston after a trade from Cincinnati.
“He’s always telling me like: ‘bro, you got it. Just continue to just be you,’” Stroud said. “For me, it’s been great to have that, because at times you can be in your own head or whatever. But he’s always there to pick me back up. And a lot of the guys, too.”
He's the third player in NFL history with at least 100 yards rushing and a rushing touchdown in six road games in the same season. He joined Tiki Barber of the New York Giants (2004) and Derrick Henry of Tennessee (2020) in accomplishing the feat. Mixon is the first to reach the marks in his first six road games of a season.
Mixon, who ranks third in the NFL by averaging 88.7 yards rushing a game, leads the Texans with 887 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns despite missing three games with an ankle injury.
His touchdown was one of two Houston scored after halftime Sunday. It was the first time the offense has scored more than one TD in the second half in five games.
What’s working
Entering Monday, the Texans lead the NFL with 84 tackles for loss this season after adding three on Sunday and their 42 sacks rank second. Danielle Hunter is tied for third in the NFL with 15 tackles for loss this season and his 10½ sacks rank second.
Will Anderson Jr., last year’s AP Defensive Rookie of the Year, is having another strong year and his 13 tackles for loss and his 9½ sacks are both tied for seventh most in the league entering Monday.
What needs help
The Texans converted just 1 of 3 red zone opportunities Sunday. They had a first down at the 8-yard line in the second quarter and settled for a short field goal when their drive stalled after Stroud was sacked.
They failed to score a touchdown again late in the third quarter when they had a first down at the 16, but couldn’t move the ball after that and added another short field goal.
Stock up
TE Dalton Schultz had five receptions for 61 yards and his first touchdown of the season against the Jaguars. It was his second-most yards receiving this season as his production has dipped after he had 635 yards receiving and five touchdowns last season.
Stock down
LB Azeez Al-Shaair was ejected for a violent hit to the facemask of Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence that caused him to be carted off the field with a concussion. Lawrence scrambled on a second-and-7 play in the second quarter. He had started his slide before Al-Shaair raised his forearm and hit the defenseless quarterback.
The hit caused a sideline-clearing fight and another scuffle as he was being led off the field.
Coach DeMeco Ryans said that’s “not what we’re coaching” and that play is not representative of who Al-Shaair is. The sixth-year pro has been suspended for three games.
He apologized for the hit Monday in a post on X.
Injuries
Safety Eric Murray left Sunday’s game with a hand injury. … Schultz injured his right shoulder but returned.
Key number
10 — The Texans are tied for fourth in the NFL with a plus-10 turnover differential entering Monday.
Next steps
Ryans wants his team to focus on rest and recovery during the week off to prepare for a difficult stretch of three games in 10 days starting with a visit from Miami on Dec. 15.
“Right now, want our guys to just get away from it all and that’s the main thing and when we hit reset, we’ll hit reset and we’ll be ready to get back to it,” he said.