The Houston Rockets defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 119-116 in a thrilling showdown between the top two seeds in the Western Conference.

Cason Wallace – after making three of his first nine field goal attempts – hit a three-pointer in the right corner with three minutes left on a well-timed pass from Isaiah Hartenstein. Fred VanVleet responded on the next possession with a catch-and-shoot three-pointer against Wallace, tying the game at 108.

They exchanged timely threes two minutes later, with VanVleet hitting a 32-footer as the shot clock expired and Wallace tying the game on an offensive rebound and feed from Hartenstein.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander forced a jump ball on Dillon Brooks with 51 seconds left – their extended battle for the ball resulted in a player clearance in front of the Houston bench, although no unsportsmanlike fouls were committed.

Brooks won the following tip and nailed a tough mid-range fadeaway on Gilgeous-Alexander to put the Rockets up 115-113. He released the ball with 0.1 seconds left on the shot clock.

Gilgeous-Alexander missed a contested free throw at the line after the timeout. Brooks grabbed the rebound with 25 seconds left, but Oklahoma City didn’t foul a Rockets ballhandler until 20 seconds later. VanVleet made both free throws, extending the Rockets’ lead to four and their score to a season-high 36.

Jalen Williams made a quick three-pointer to bring the Thunder within one point, but hit a long 3-pointer at the buzzer as Oklahoma City couldn’t advance the ball.

The Thunder played the final six minutes of the night without Luguentz Dort, who was fouled by hitting Jabari Smith Jr. after the Rockets forward secured a defensive rebound.

Gilgeous-Alexander totaled 32 points on 10-for-19 shooting and 9-for-11 at the free throw line. To end his night, he also recorded eight rebounds, five assists and two steals – with just two turnovers.

Isaiah Hartenstein secured his fifth double-double in five Thunder appearances. He scored 19 points on 9 of 12 from the field and grabbed 13 rebounds, along with four assists, a steal and a block. Aaron Wiggins contributed 13 points, three rebounds and three assists off the bench.

Houston guard Fred VanVleet scored a season-high 38 points, making five of his nine 3-point attempts and shooting 13 of 14 from the field. Alperen Sengun filled the penalty area with 20 points, 14 rebounds (five offensive) and nine assists. Jabari Smith Jr. posted 15 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks with a game-high +10 plus-minus.

Oklahoma City started Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Hartenstein, Dort and Wallace for the second straight season.

The Rockets started VanVleet, Jalen Green, Brooks, Smith Jr. and Sengun.

Hartenstein won the first tip against Sengun and immediately caught an alley-oop slam from Jalen Williams. He scored five points, grabbed two rebounds and blocked Sengun before the first timeout of the night.

Brooks made two catch-and-shoot three-pointers in corners and two mid-range baskets in the first seven minutes of the game. He and VanVleet combined for 17 points on 10 shot attempts in the first quarter to spark the Rockets’ offense. Houston shot 5-for-9 from deep and grabbed four offensive rebounds to take a 33-28 lead after one quarter.

The Rockets extended their lead to 11 points through penetration at the rim and good outside shooting. Smith Jr. completed a transition dunk after an inbounds steal at the other end, and Jalen Green completed an and-one layup over Dort to force a Mark Daigneault timeout four minutes into the second quarter.

Oklahoma City came back into the game with consistent 3-point shooting. Kenrich Williams, Dort and Wiggins provided a great performance, and Gilgeous-Alexander hit a prime step-back three-pointer against Brooks. The Thunder made four of their last six outside attempts of the first half and trailed 62-60 at halftime.

Hartenstein continued his two-way production after halftime, making two 10-foot floaters and two layups in a five-minute span to power Oklahoma City’s offense. He also grabbed his 10th defensive rebound of the game early in the third quarter.

However, the Rockets maintained their slim lead by hitting numerous free throws on rim attempts. They shot 12 of 13 at the line in the first six minutes of the quarter, with Sengun and VanVleet combining for 11 attempts.

Gilgeous-Alexander caused four Houston fouls on one possession, including a transition foul on Brooks to put Oklahoma City in the bonus. He scored 13 points in five minutes and extended the Thunder’s lead to seven points in the final minutes of the third quarter, highlighted by a step-back triple and a breakaway dunk after a forced live-ball turnover by Smith Jr .

VanVleet found a baseline-cutting Amen Thompson for an uncontested slam with 12 seconds left, and Kenrich Williams missed a wide-open 3-pointer on the final possession – Oklahoma City led 96-91 after three quarters.

The Thunder return home to play the Utah Jazz this Tuesday, December 3rd at 7pm – their final of four Emirates NBA Cup group stage games.

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