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Tim MacMahon, ESPN Staff Writer
HOUSTON — Dillon Brooks described the scrum that began when he tied up Oklahoma City Thunder celebrity Shai Gilgeous-Alexander within the paint and spilled into the Houston Rockets’ bench space as a “pleasant battle” with fiercely aggressive roots in Team Canada’s coaching camp.
The scene epitomized the Rockets’ relentless, tenacious mindset and was a key second in a 119-116 win that pulled Houston inside a half-game of the Western Conference-leading Thunder.
After Gilgeous-Alexander seemingly corralled a defensive rebound with the rating tied within the last minute, Brooks maneuvered from behind to seize the ball with each palms, tugging with sufficient power to carry his Team Canada teammate off his ft. As they wrestled and refused to let go of the ball, the remainder of the gamers shaped a scrum, prompting an officers overview that decided no technical fouls had been merited.
After the mud cleared, Brooks received the bounce ball and capped a chaotic possession by taking a feed from seated-in-the-paint Alperen Sengun and beating the shot clock buzzer with a 9-foot fadeaway that gave the Rockets the lead for good with 34 seconds remaining.
“Tough man, received the bounce ball, taking part in clutch for us,” Sengun stated of Brooks, who completed with 16 factors and helped maintain Gilgeous-Alexander (32 factors) to 2 factors on 1-of-5 taking pictures within the fourth quarter. “That was nice. That was candy to see it.”
This was the sweetest win for the 15-6 Rockets to date this season, avenging a 126-107 blowout loss on Nov. 8 in Oklahoma City — the one time Houston has misplaced by double figures this yr.
The Rockets prevailed in a heated matchup of the highest two groups within the West standings and the NBA’s two highest-ranked defenses.
“I would not say an announcement [win],” Rockets coach Ime Udoka stated. “It simply reveals progress on our half. … Just we’re constructing on final yr — the mindset of who we need to be going ahead.”
In typical Houston style, it wasn’t a reasonably win. The Rockets shot 41.3% from the ground, the fourth time this season they’ve received regardless of taking pictures lower than 42%. According to ESPN Research, no different staff has greater than two such victories.
The Rockets have made large strides in “Phase 2” of their rebuilding course of, as proprietor Tilman Fertitta termed the transition when he employed Udoka through the 2023 offseason, when Houston was within the wake of three cellar-dweller seasons that resulted within the trio of excessive lottery picks Jalen Green, Jabari Smith Jr. and Amen Thompson.
The Rockets made a 19-win enchancment to go .500 final season, when veteran free agent additions Brooks and Fred VanVleet helped Udoka change the franchise’s tradition through the coach’s first season on the helm in Houston. Udoka made it clear that the Rockets’ mission can be to make the playoffs this season, a objective that seems attainable 1 / 4 of the best way into the schedule.
“Winning is enjoyable,” stated Sengun, who had 20 factors, 14 rebounds and completed an help shy of his fourth triple-double of the season. “We realized that after we received the vets. It’s a lot enjoyable now.”
VanVleet scored a game-high 38 factors towards the Thunder, highlighted by a high-arcing, shot clock-beating 33-footer with 1:29 remaining. He referred to the win over Oklahoma City and Tuesday’s street extra time win over the Minnesota Timberwolves as “staples” that reinforce that the Rockets are on the precise path.
“The basis that we’re laying, it is easy to see it while you’re simply competing,” VanVleet informed ESPN. “But to see wins towards good groups at totally different levels of the season, it is a good signal that what we’re doing is working. We’re getting higher.”
