OKLAHOMA CITY — Before Wednesday’s game, Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said he of course had concerns over his team looking ahead to the All-Star break.
It’s only human nature. It provides the players their first and only extended break of the grueling nine-month season.
Well, any concerns of that leaking over to the Thunder’s game against the Houston Rockets were quickly put to rest in a 133-96 win. After being 1-5 in their previous six games against the Rockets, the Thunder have won two in a row with a 34.5-point average margin of victory.
“I was really impressed by our focus level,” Daigneault said.”That’s a tough game because of the All-Star break, and it’s a tough break because we won by a good margin the last time we played them. So a lot of dynamics that we had to overcome mentality and I thought our guys really brought it from the jump and played 48 minutes of good basketball.”
It was clear where this game was heading in the first quarter as the Thunder opened a 38-21 lead. By halftime, the Thunder led by 22 points. By the end of the third quarter, the Thunder had already scored 116 points.
The Thunder led by as many as 42 points and won by a season-high 37 points.
The Thunder went 42-of-87 (48.3%) from the field and 9-of-34 (26.5%) shooting from 3. From the free-throw line, the Thunder had a busy night as they went an absurd 40-of-47 (85.1%).
Five Thunder players finished with at least 10 points and nobody played more than 29 minutes. This was also the first time in Thunder history that 13 players scored at least four points.
The low outside shooting numbers were a little surprising — especially considering the Thunder reached the century mark before the end of three quarters. Scoring advantages of 64-38 in the paint and 24-14 on the fast-breaks will make up for poor shooting from outside.
Meanwhile, it was a rough night for the Rockets.
The Rockets went 30-of-89 (33.7%) from the field and 10-of-37 (27%) from 3. From the free-throw line, the Rockets went 26-of-38 (68.4%).
Jabari Smith Jr. has the most notable game for the Rockets. He finished with 15 points and nine rebounds. Jalen Green contributed with 14 points in 16 minutes before being pulled due to a groin strain.
Let’s take a look at Thunder player grades.