Field Level Media
Nov 29, 2021
Christian Wood scored 24 points and collected a career-high 21 rebounds to lead the Houston Rockets to a 102-89 victory over the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday night.
Garrison Mathews made five 3-pointers while scoring 19 points for the Rockets, who have won three straight contests following a 15-game losing streak. Jae'Sean Tate added 15 points, eight assists and six rebounds for Houston.
Kevin Porter Jr. recorded his first career triple-double for the Rockets with 11 points, 11 assists, 10 rebounds and three steals.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 22 points for the Thunder, who have lost six straight games and eight of the past nine.
Isaiah Roby and Tre Mann added 17 points apiece for Oklahoma City, which shot 16.3 percent (7 of 43) from 3-point range while hitting 35.6 percent overall.
The two teams play for the final time this season on Wednesday in Oklahoma City. Houston has won two of the first three meetings.
Danuel House Jr. had 12 points and eight rebounds and Eric Gordon added 11 points for Houston, which connected on 41.7 percent of its shots, including 15 of 46 (32.6 percent) from 3-point range. The Rockets had a 60-45 rebounding edge.
Mathews buried back-to-back 3-pointers during an 11-0 burst that allowed Houston to open up a 62-41 lead with 6:21 left in the third quarter.
Oklahoma City trimmed its deficit to 72-60 by the end of the third quarter and trailed by 10 early in the final stanza. But Gordon scored eight points in less than three minutes to help the Rockets push their lead to 86-69 with 7:01 remaining.
Mann's three-point play pulled the Thunder within 94-83 with 3:13 left but Mathews, Wood and Tate answered with baskets to elevate the lead to 17 and Houston closed it out.
Wood already had a double-double at halftime with 10 points and 11 boards as the Rockets held a 46-37 advantage.
Houston used a 15-2 run during a five-minute stretch to turn a 33-31 deficit into an 11-point lead.
--Field Level Media