HOUSTON – Dillon Brooks described the scrum that began when he pinned Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the team and spilled onto the Houston Rockets’ bench as a “friendly fight” with hard-fought roots in the Team Canada training camp.

The scene epitomized the Rockets’ relentless, tenacious mindset and was a key moment in a 119-116 victory that brought Houston within half a game of the Western Conference-leading Thunder.

After Gilgeous-Alexander seemingly grabbed a defensive rebound in the final minute to tie the game, Brooks maneuvered from behind to grab the ball with both hands and pulled with enough force to knock his Team Canada teammate away tore his feet. As they struggled and refused to let go of the ball, the remaining players formed a scrum, leading to a review by the officials which determined that a technical foul was not warranted.

After the dust cleared, Brooks won the jump ball and capped a chaotic possession by taking a feed from Alperen Sengun, who was sitting in the paint, and beat the shot clock buzzer with a 9-foot fadeaway that gave the Rockets the final win The lead was given with 34 seconds left.

“Tough guy, won the jump ball and was clutch for us,” Sengun said of Brooks, who finished with 16 points and helped lead Gilgeous-Alexander (32 points) on 1-of-5 shooting in the fourth quarter two points came. “That was great. It was sweet to see.”

This was the 15-6 Rockets’ sweetest win so far this season, avenging a 126-107 loss Nov. 8 in Oklahoma City – the only time Houston has lost by double digits this year.

The Rockets prevailed in a heated duel between the top two teams in the West and the top two defenses in the NBA.

“I wouldn’t say a statement (win),” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said. “It just shows growth on our part. … We’re just building on last year – the mindset of who we want to be in the future.”

In typical Houston fashion, it wasn’t a pretty win. The Rockets shot 41.3% from the floor, the fourth time this season they have won despite shooting less than 42%. According to ESPN Research, no other team has more than two such wins.

The Rockets have made tremendous progress in “Phase 2” of their rebuilding process, as owner Tilman Fertitta called the transition when he hired Udoka in the 2023 offseason, when Houston was coming off three basement seasons that led to the trio of top lottery picks Jalen Green, Jabari Smith Jr. and Amen Thompson.

The Rockets improved 19 wins to .500 last season as veteran free agents Brooks and Fred VanVleet helped Udoka change the franchise’s culture during the coach’s first season at the helm in Houston. Udoka made it clear that the Rockets’ mission would be to make the playoffs this season, a goal that appears achievable a quarter of the way through the schedule.

“Winning is fun,” said Sengun, who had 20 points and 14 rebounds and came just one assist shy of his fourth triple-double of the season. “We learned that after we had the vets. It’s so much fun now.”

VanVleet scored a game-high 38 points against the Thunder, highlighted by a 33-foot high-arcing shot with 1:29 left. He cited Tuesday’s win over Oklahoma City and overtime win over the Minnesota Timberwolves as cornerstones that reinforce the Rockets are on the right track.

“The foundation we are laying is easy to see just by competing,” VanVleet told ESPN. “But seeing wins against good teams at different stages of the season is a good sign that what we are doing is working. We’re getting better.”