Rockets beat Thunder 119-98 as Jabari Smith Jr. scores 30 and Marcus Smart makes seven threes
Houston moved to 6-1 a night after its first loss of the season, while Oklahoma City lost its second straight game in its first outing since announcing Chet Holmgren's knee injury, according to AP.
The Houston Rockets beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 119-98 at the Toyota Center in Houston on Saturday night (US time; tip-off 12:30am GMT Sunday 1 November), according to AP. Jabari Smith Jr. scored 30 points with nine rebounds and Marcus Smart added 24, making 7 of 10 three-pointers.
Houston moved to 6-1, a night after the Dallas Mavericks handed it its first loss of the season. Oklahoma City fell to 4-2, its second straight defeat after a 4-0 start, AP said.
Rockets pull away in the second quarter
Leading 37-30 a minute into the second quarter, the Rockets went on an 18-4 run to lead 55-34 on an Amen Thompson tip-in with 6:10 left in the half, according to AP. The Thunder outscored Houston 17-8 over the final six minutes to trail 62-51 at half-time. Houston opened the third quarter with an 8-0 run, and its lead did not drop below 12 points for the rest of the game, AP said.
Score by quarter (ESPN): Rockets 35-27-30-27, Thunder 26-25-24-23.
Smith made 10 of 18 shots, including 6 of 12 three-pointers, according to the ESPN box score. Alperen Sengun, back after missing two games with lower back soreness, had 16 points and nine rebounds, and Kevin Durant scored 14. Houston made 18 of 41 three-pointers (44%) and had 29 assists.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led Oklahoma City with 26 points on 10-of-20 shooting. Kenrich Williams and Bennett Stirtz scored 11 each, and Isaiah Hartenstein and Jared McCain 10 each. The Thunder shot 44% from the field and made 10 of 32 three-pointers, according to ESPN’s team statistics.
Team news
Houston were without Fred VanVleet (right knee injury management) and Reed Sheppard, who missed a second straight game with low back soreness, AP said. It was the Thunder’s first game since they announced on Friday that Chet Holmgren would miss at least two months with a right knee injury, according to AP.
The Thunder play at the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday and the Rockets host the Boston Celtics the same night, AP said.
See also: Mavericks hand Rockets their first loss, in our Warriors-Lakers report and Thunder beat Suns 125-114 to stay unbeaten.
Watch highlights: THUNDER at ROCKETS | FULL GAME HIGHLIGHTS | October 31, 2026 (NBA on YouTube)
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