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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Ben DuBose

Takeaways: Aaron Holiday erupts vs. Thunder as Houston wins ninth straight at home

Aaron Holiday Rockets Thunder Alperen Sengun Chet Holmgren Houston Dillon Brooks Jabari Smith Lachard Binkley OKC

HOUSTON — The home winning streak for the Rockets (9-9) is now at nine games after Wednesday’s convincing 110-101 victory (box score) over the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder (13-7).

Reserve guard Aaron Holiday had easily the best game of his Rockets tenure with 22 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists in 27 minutes off the bench. Holiday connected on 6-of-7 shots from 3-point range (85.7%) at Toyota Center, which led the way in a strong 15-of-33 night (45.5%) for Houston’s 3-point shooting as a team.

Other standout players for the Rockets included:

  • Dillon Brooks: Team-high 23 points, 4 rebounds; 9-of-17 shooting (52.9%), 2-of-7 on 3-pointers (28.6%)
  • Jabari Smith Jr.: 6 points, career-high 18 rebounds; 2-of-4 shooting (50.0%), 1-of-1 on 3-pointers
  • Alperen Sengun: 21 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks; 8-of-13 shooting (61.5%)
  • Jalen Green: 15 points, 7 rebounds; 6-of-12 shooting (50.0%), 1-of-3 on 3-pointers (33.3%)
  • Fred VanVleet: 11 points, 9 assists, 3 steals; 3-of-7 on 3-pointers (42.9%)
  • Tari Eason: 8 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks; 2-of-4 on 3-pointers (50.0%), 3-of-4 on free throws (75.0%)

Sengun drew frequent double teams after a strong start, which helped lead to open 3-point shots for Holiday and many others. Led by Smith and Sengun inside, Houston won the rebounding battle against Oklahoma City by a commanding margin, 53-30.

The Thunder were paced by star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who finished with 33 points, 6 assists, and 6 steals while shooting 13-of-18 from the field (72.2%) and 7-of-9 on free throws (77.8%).

In a matchup of top-three picks from the 2022 NBA draft, Smith (No. 3) largely outplayed Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren (No. 2). The 7-foot-1 big man had a game-high 6 blocks but finished with just 4 points and 5 rebounds in 26 minutes, shooting 2-of-9 (22.2%) overall.

Here’s our look at highlights and postgame interviews after Wednesday’s game versus the Thunder, along with reaction by media members and fans. Next up for the Rockets is Friday’s game at Denver, with tipoff set for 8:00 p.m. Central from Ball Arena.

Dec. 6 Rockets-Thunder reaction

 

 

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