Rockets earn gritty win vs. OKC, close gap in West

HOUSTON -- Dillon Brooks described the scrum that started when he tied up Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the paint and spilled into the Houston Rockets' bench area as a "friendly battle" with fiercely competitive roots in Team Canada's training camp.

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

After Gilgeous-Alexander seemingly corralled a defensive rebound with the score tied in the final minute, Brooks maneuvered from behind to grab the ball with both hands, tugging with enough force to lift his Team Canada teammate off his feet. As they wrestled and refused to let go of the ball, the rest of the players formed a scrum, prompting an officials review that determined no technical fouls were merited.

After the dust cleared, Brooks won the jump 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 guy, won the jump ball, playing clutch for us," Sengun said of Brooks, who finished with 16 points and helped hold Gilgeous-Alexander (32 points) to two points on 1-of-5 shooting in the fourth quarter. "That was great. That was sweet to see it."

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

The Rockets prevailed in a heated matchup of the top two teams in the West standings and the NBA's two highest-ranked defenses.

"I wouldn't say a statement [win]," Rockets coach Ime Udoka said. "It just shows growth on our part. ... Just we're building on last year -- the mindset of who we want to be going forward."

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

The Rockets have made massive strides in "Phase 2" of their rebuilding process, as owner Tilman Fertitta termed the transition when he hired Udoka during the 2023 offseason, when Houston was in the wake of three cellar-dweller seasons that resulted in the trio of high lottery picks Jalen Green, Jabari Smith Jr. and Amen Thompson.

The Rockets made a 19-win improvement to go .500 last season, when veteran free agent additions 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 attainable a quarter of the way into the schedule.

"Winning is fun," said Sengun, who had 20 points, 14 rebounds and finished an assist shy of his fourth triple-double of the season. "We learned that after we got the vets. It's so much fun now."

VanVleet scored a game-high 38 points against 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 road overtime win over the Minnesota Timberwolves as "staples" that reinforce that the Rockets are on the right path.

"The foundation that we're laying, it's easy to see it when you're just competing," VanVleet told ESPN. "But to see wins against good teams at different stages of the season, it's a good sign that what we're doing is working. We're getting better."