‘We’re not playing together’: Rockets sad, angry after 20th straight loss

“We’re not playing together,” Christian Wood said postgame. “I would like to be more involved in the offense going down the stretch.”

On paper, Sunday’s game versus Oklahoma City was the ideal spot for the Houston Rockets to end their franchise record losing streak. They were at home, their desired starting lineup was fully available, the Thunder are several games below .500, and OKC held out three starters in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Al Horford, and Darius Bazley.

Yet, it still wasn’t enough to stop the skid, with Houston (11-30) losing its 20th straight game with a 114-112 setback (box score). The ongoing streak is now among the 10 worst in NBA history.

Christian Wood (27 points, 8 rebounds), John Wall (24 points, 7 assists), Victor Oladipo (23 points, 6 assists), and Danuel House Jr. (18 points, 8 rebounds) all played well offensively, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a 52-38 rebounding advantage by the Thunder (18-24).

Much of the frustration came down to a lack of execution late in the game. Down by two with just over a minute left, Wall drove into the paint and drew a foul — but only made one of two free throws, allowing OKC to keep the lead. From there, the Rockets never scored again. In the final minute, Oladipo missed a rushed 3-pointer in transition, Wall had a driving layup blocked by Lu Dort, and Wall missed an isolation 3-pointer in the closing seconds after apparently going away from Stephen Silas’ desired play. Each of those shots would have given Houston the lead.

Wood only took one shot in the game’s final eight minutes, and he expressed frustration postgame at his lack of involvement late. “We’re not playing together,” said Wood, adding that this loss was tougher to take. “I would like to be more involved in the offense going down the stretch.”

Here’s a sampling of the postgame reaction from a series of somber press conferences. Houston returns to action on Monday versus Toronto.

[lawrence-related id=46594]

https://twitter.com/AdamSpolane/status/1373736997278396427