Houston Shot 53 Threes. I'm More Interested in Why Than the 27-Point Win.
Houston Rockets
Oklahoma City ThunderBrowse every NBA Week 3 article ↗
Houston attempted 53 threes, made just 17, and still beat OKC by 27. The 34 assists, eight turnovers and player roles tell a more interesting story than the preseason score.
Houston shot FIFTY-THREE threes against Oklahoma City. Fifty-three. And you know what's funny? They only made 17 of them. That's 32.1 percent, so I don't wanna hear anybody acting like this was some revolutionary shooting clinic. Houston won 116–89, but the thing I'm studying is the decision to take that many shots in the first place — and how they created them. The Rockets had 34 assists and only eight turnovers. To me, those numbers say a hell of a lot more than winning by 27.
Watch the first quarter and you can see the foundation wasn't just dudes chucking from the parking lot. Houston jumped ahead 33–15 by attacking early. Alperen Şengün was finding Amen Thompson on cuts, and Amen kept getting into the paint instead of standing around waiting for a contested jumper. That inside pressure is what can make an outside-heavy attack work. If the defense has to collapse, somebody on the perimeter is open. If nobody threatens the rim, 53 threes is just 53 opportunities to brick.
And OKC didn't just sit there getting embarrassed all night. The Thunder outscored Houston 32–21 in the second quarter, cutting an 18-point gap to seven at halftime, 54–47. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander found his rhythm and finished with 17 points, while Jalen Williams scored 18 on 7-for-14 shooting with seven rebounds. That's why you have to look at the actual flow instead of staring at one final margin and making up a story.
Houston pushed its lead to 79–69 after three quarters, then the reserves helped blow the game open with a 37–20 fourth. The Rockets had the deeper shooting night; Oklahoma City finished just 5-for-36 from three. Five makes out of 36 attempts is ugly as hell. But this was also a preseason rotation, with Chet Holmgren and multiple other Thunder players inactive. I'm not about to judge OKC's whole season because the back end of its roster couldn't buy a jumper in October.
Bogdan Bogdanović is where the new spacing starts to make sense. He scored 15 points, and all five of his made field goals were threes. Five-for-eight from deep in sixteen minutes, plus six rebounds. That's the kind of catch-and-shoot threat that makes a defense pay for cheating toward Şengün or Amen. I'm not claiming he'll shoot 62.5 percent every night. I'm saying Houston has another guy opponents can't just ignore.
Tari Eason gave them 12 points in under 17 minutes, going 5-for-7 overall and 2-for-2 from three. That's efficient as fuck. Eason doesn't have to dominate the ball to have an impact; if he's running, defending and actually making the clean looks Houston creates, his role fits this faster approach. Reed Sheppard chipped in 11 with three threes and three assists. Different players, same useful question: can Houston keep generating good looks for guys who don't need 20 dribbles first?
Şengün posted 14 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two blocks on 7-for-11 shooting in under 24 minutes. He also had three turnovers, which is worth noting. Amen finished with 12 points, five boards and four assists. When those two connect in the middle of the floor, Houston can create a real advantage before the defense is even set. That's a more interesting skill than bragging about a preseason blowout.
Fred VanVleet's game is a perfect example of why I don't grade players by points alone. He went 3-for-13 from the floor and 1-for-9 from three. That's a rough shooting night, no sugarcoating it. But he also handed out EIGHT assists without a single turnover, had six rebounds and two steals. The shots weren't falling, yet he still helped keep Houston organized. Give me a point guard who can control the game when he can't hit a damn thing.
On the other hand, Jabari Smith Jr. shot 2-for-10, missed all five of his threes and scored four points. Marcus Smart went 0-for-3 and had two assists against two turnovers. Kevin Durant put up 11 in a short 16-minute run and missed all four of his three-point tries. None of that means these guys suddenly suck. It means I'm not going to talk about Houston's good performances and pretend every single player executed perfectly. That's not reviewing a basketball game. That's doing public relations.
For OKC, Jared McCain struggled badly from the perimeter — 0-for-8 from three — while Ajay Mitchell went 3-for-10 overall. The Thunder had 19 assists against 17 turnovers. Aday Mara did collect nine boards in roughly 21 minutes. Between the inactive players, the second-quarter response and the rough outside shooting, the useful OKC conversation is about which lineups and young players looked functional, not about whether this loss somehow means Shai or Jalen forgot how to win.
Here's my problem with celebrating 53 threes just because the scoreboard looks good: volume ain't automatically quality. Houston shot only 32 percent from deep, and it got just 11 free-throw attempts. If those shots stop falling during a real game, how do you get yourself back to the rim and force the defense to react? The good signs are the 34 assists, the fast decisions and the inside-out connections. The part worth questioning is whether the Rockets can stay disciplined instead of settling.
So yeah, Houston won by 27. Congratulations, it's October. What I actually like is seeing Şengün and Amen attack inside, VanVleet distribute without giving the ball away, and multiple role players get shots out of an offense that moves with purpose. What I don't like is how easily people turn one preseason night into proof that a whole team has arrived. Show me the same ball movement, spacing and accountability once the games count. Then we can really talk.
Player-by-player game stats and official final score.
ADDITIONAL GAME REPORTRockets roll past Thunder in preseason final — The Dream ShakeIndependent Rockets game analysis and context about spacing, lineup usage, and shot selection.
Talk your shit.
Agree, disagree, add context, challenge the take. Keep it about the conversation.
Your account name stays attached to your comments, so nobody can just type your name and pretend to be you.