After dropping their fourth-straight game, is it time to worry about the Houston Rockets?

Benyam Kidane

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After dropping their fourth-straight game, is it time to worry about the Houston Rockets? image

The Houston Rockets slumped to their fourth straight defeat and fifth in six games after surrendering a 17-point lead to the Oklahoma City Thunder.  

OKC piled on the points in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Rockets 41-20 to pull off a monster comeback and secure a 112-107 win.

After today's loss, the Rockets now sit just two games ahead of the Thunder in the sixth seed in the Western Conference standings.

Thunder's monster fourth quarter

The Rockets will want this one back. 

Behind the play of Russell Westbrook, they built a 100-85 lead with 7:18 remaining in the fourth quarter. The Rockets looked on track for a bounce back win to end their three-game skid, but then Danilo Gallinari and the Thunder happened. 

Gallinari powered a 13-0 run to cut the deficit to just 100-98 with 4:27 to go and from there, the momentum was all OKC's.

Gallo scored 12 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, combining with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (13 points and 10 rebounds) and Dennis Schroder (23 points) down the stretch.

The Thunder turned the game on its head with a blistering two-way performance, locking up the Rockets on defence as they roared back into the game.

Westbrook broke a four-minute field drought with just over three minutes to go, following that up with a steal and layup to put the Rockets up 105-102, but from there the Thunder went on a 10-2 run to seal the win.

Chris Paul finished with 28 points and eight rebounds in the win, scoring 27 of his points in the first half. 


Harden goes cold from deep

Harden recorded 29 points, nine rebounds and six assists on the night, but it was a shooting night to forget.

The Beard shot 9-of-29 from the field and 1-of-17 from three - tied for the most missed threes in a game in NBA history.

He managed just five points in the fourth quarter on 2-of-5 shooting.

Another record for Westbrook

Westbrook joined some exclusive company with his latest triple-double, becoming just the second player in NBA history to record a triple-double against every single team.

After playing the first 11 seasons of his career for the Thunder, Westbrook completed the 30-team feat, dropping 32 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds, making it 146 triple-doubles for his career.


LeBron James became the first player to achieve the feat in November, also against the Thunder. 

Westbrook now has eight triple-doubles on the season and two in his last three games, trailing only James (9) and Luka Doncic (12) for triple-doubles this season.

What's next?

The Thunder (25-19) now hold the season series (2-1) against the Rockets (26-16), which could become a big factor in playoff seeding down the track.

The Rockets play four of their next five games on the road, with a tough stretch of games against the Denver Nuggets (twice), Minnesota Timberwolves and Utah Jazz, before taking on the Dallas Mavericks at home.   

Meanwhile, the Thunder will look to continue their momentum when they take on the Orlando Magic, Atlanta Hawks and Minnesota Timberwolves in their next three games. 

The Thunder will be sweating on the health of big man Steven Adams, who suffered a left ankle sprain early in the first quarter of this game.

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Benyam Kidane

Benyam Kidane Photo

Benyam Kidane is a senior NBA editor and has been covering the league for The Sporting News since 2016. In his spare time you can find him watching Allen Iverson highlights on repeat.