HOUSTON — Surrounded by three defenders, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ballerina'd his way to a one-on-one look. His shiftiness found the perfect one-on-one matchup. Clint Capela had zero prayer to get a stop. The two-time MVP slid over to the baseline and rainbowed in a mid-range jumper.
The Oklahoma City Thunder fell in a 119-98 loss to the Houston Rockets. Teetering on this being on the non-competitive side of things, the game got away with the beat-up and hospitalized version of the former in the second half.
Recalibrating to their new NBA life, the Thunder learned just how huge the talent gap is between themselves and one of the top teams. Kenrich Williams had to match up on Kevin Durant. The Rockets came out with a full head of steam. Jabari Smith
Jr. was feeling himself after every outside jumper. So did Marcus Smart as he buried his shots in front of OKC's face.
Getting some early minutes from Micah Peavy, his presence exemplified where things are for the Thunder right now. They were in a 35-26 deficit after the first quarter. What was once OKC's calling card had quickly turned into a weakness. Alperen Sengun bullied their depleted frontcourt down low. Houston couldn't miss at any level. Heck, Durant was seldom needed.
Gilgeous-Alexander tried his best to carry OKC's corpse over the finish line. He went against his nature of playing within the flow of the offense. Understanding the urgency of things, he emptied the clip. The walking 30-point bucket worked his way around traffic to put up highly-difficult jumpers. That was their only form of consistent offense.
The Thunder had 25 points in the second quarter. They entered halftime with a 62-51 deficit. Honestly, not a bad spot to find yourself in. But just like the Dallas game, it was all about how the second half began. Would OKC make a serious run or let go of the rope? Houston's eight consecutive points made the answer very clear.
Smart and Smith Jr. buried back-to-back outside jumpers. The Thunder were in a 70-51 deficit less than two minutes into the second half. The rest of the way, things got pretty ugly — aside from Jaylin Williams' poster on Sengun. They put up 24 points in the third quarter. That turned it into a 92-75 hole. Any hope of a miraculous comeback was quickly dispelled.
The Thunder fell behind by as many as 27 points. It didn't take long for them to wave the white flag. Josh Dix and the rest of OKC's third-stringers played out the final dozen minutes. It had 23 points in the final frame. For the second straight game in the post-D.C.C. (Dub, Chet, Caso) era, they played out another non-competitive final frame.
The Thunder shot 44% from the field and went 10-of-32 (31.3%) from 3. They shot 14-of-15 on free throws. They had 20 assists on 37 baskets. Five Thunder players scored double-digit points.
Gilgeous-Alexander tried to win one-on-five with 26 points and four rebounds. Jared McCain and Isaiah Hartenstein each scored 10 points apiece. Williams had 11 points and seven rebounds. Bennett Stirtz also had 11 points and three assists.
Meanwhile, the Rockets shot 46% from the field and went 18-of-41 (43.9%) from 3. They shot 19-of-23 on free throws. They had 29 assists on 41 baskets. Four Rockets players scored double-digit points.
Durant had a laid-back 14 points and four assists. Sengun bullied his way to 16 points, nine rebounds and nine assists. Smith Jr. exploded for 30 points and nine rebounds. Smart surprised folks with 24 points and five rebounds.
Well, this is just OKC's new grim reality. Gilgeous-Alexander can leave it all out on the court, but that still doesn't necessarily guarantee a winning formula. The NBA is too deep and talented to get rocked by one-man shows. This isn't 2017 anymore. Right now, the Thunder are going through some growing pains. They deserve some grace fresh off one of the darkest days in franchise history.
All the Thunder can do is move forward. The NBA marathon rolls along. Surely, they'll figure something out. Even if it's a duct-taped version of their team. All they gotta do is buy their time over the next two months until Chet Holmgren and others arrive. At least, that's the dream scenario. Through two games, though, there's been little indication that things will play out like that.
Let's look at Thunder player grades:
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: A-minus
Curling off Hartenstein's screen, Gilgeous-Alexander crab-dribbled his way ahead of Thompson. A couple of shoulder moves created enough space. He went with the underhanded layup. Likely hearing the noise, he left it all on the floor as a one-man scoring machine. Sadly, it didn't matter.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 26 points on 10-of-20 shooting, four rebounds and three assists. He shot 3-of-6 from 3 and went 3-of-4 on free throws. He also had one steal.
For Gilgeous-Alexander, I'm sure this new reality is taking a minute to fully process. A week ago, he had two All-NBA teammates and an All-Defensive member in the starting lineup. A week later, all three have vanished — ala Thanos' snap in 'Infinity War.' But this was a step in the right direction as this will be OKC's reality for the next two-plus months.
The jumper was used often and frequently. Gilgeous-Alexander tried his best to win this as a one-man offense. Really, he's the reason this was a somewhat-interesting game for three quarters. Didn't matter who the Rockets threw at him or how many. He snaked his way around several defenders to get to his favorite spots in the mid-range.
One early-year trend has been Gilgeous-Alexander's shot diet. The drives to the rim have been pretty minimal. Which is a complete changeup from previous years as the league leader in that statistical category. It also probably explains why his free throw numbers have dramatically dipped. He's still getting his points, but he's doing so in a different stylistic way.
It's all really a moot point. Gilgeous-Alexander will likely drag the Thunder to a decent number of wins. But this was the latest example that the depleted version can't hang with some of the top contenders. The plan is to keep their head above water over the next two months. By then, maybe some reinforcements can make this a much fairer fight. Until then, OKC just has to take its medicine. The NBA is unforgiving.
Playing in the paint 🎨 pic.twitter.com/u2nxWOC5LE
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) November 1, 2026
A steal and a bucket incoming ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/GqrNQ2Be9m
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) November 1, 2026
How @shaiglalex ⁉️ pic.twitter.com/YjMuKrftSq
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) November 1, 2026
2️⃣ way work 💼 pic.twitter.com/o2DMIR6vpF
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) November 1, 2026
Jared McCain: D
Catching Williams' pass, McCain went to work. He yo-yo'd Bogdan Bogdanovic with an in-and-out dribble. He then went with the one-handed layup to get by Sengun. The 22-year-old enjoyed a rare bucket. As he's going through a cold streak from the outside, he has to get creative.
McCain finished with 10 points on 5-of-14 shooting, four rebounds and two assists. He shot 0-of-5 from 3. He also had one steal.
The Thunder are going to need more from McCain and Ajay Mitchell. You can't combine for 16 points on 35% shooting. Not with how things are right now. After Gilgeous-Alexander, those two are next in line in terms of OKC's most talented scorers who are suited up. This is a pretty awful time to go through a cold streak.
In such an apocalyptic setting, McCain could take advantage of the opportunities in front of him. The Thunder badly need competent NBA players. They're relying on two-way guys to play meaningful first-half minutes. So far, he hasn't really been up to par with what most had hoped once the Thunder realized what their less-than-ideal circumstances were.
JMac on the attack 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/iAcqmDidBA
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) November 1, 2026
Isaiah Hartenstein: D
When Hartenstein took a pay cut to stick around for one more season, this was not what he envisioned by Halloween. The Thunder are completely destroyed at the frontcourt. The 28-year-old has been living out a nightmare scenario for at least two months.
Hartenstein finished with 10 points on 3-of-8 shooting and seven rebounds. He shot 0-of-2 from 3 and went 4-of-4 on free throws. He also had three steals.
As one of OKC's starters for the last three seasons, Hartenstein is one of those players who thrive as a complementary piece on a contender. And then quickly forgotten about in a dire situation like this. Sure, he's contributing and putting up numbers, but not to the extent that he can actually influence the final scoreboard.
The Thunder are in a bad place — across the board, too. Physically, mentally, emotionally. It makes sense. They lost three of their best four players on a single night. To show how demoralized this group is right now, Hartenstein tried a couple of outside jumpers in pure desperation. Just a week ago, this looked like a primetime matchup on Halloween.
I still can't believe this is OKC's reality right now. Neither can the Thunder, apparently. Hartenstein didn't sign up for this. There has to be a pathway to playing better basketball. Or risk this being a lost season. It's just too dang early to wave the white flag — but yeesh.
Kenrich Williams: D
In another example of an endless list, Williams had Durant to start things. The bench player usually gets a few minutes in these high-profile matchups. But the Thunder are so battered and bruised, that they had to rely on him to slow down one of the greatest scorers ever.
Williams finished with 11 points on 3-of-7 shooting, seven rebounds and three assists. He shot 3-of-6 from 3 and went 2-of-2 on free throws.
In a vacuum, not a bad game for Williams. He's helped out at times since he's been pushed to the starting lineup. But man, it's unfair to expect him to seamlessly step into this role. He had been riding the bench for years. Happily serving as OKC's veteran presence. You can't seriously expect him to put up starting-level contributions. They're putting a lot on the 31-year-old's plate and he's reasonably struggling to keep up.
In a somber postgame scene, Williams showed Holmgren his support. Those two have been close over the years. To see him go through another lengthy injury setback must be brutal. The Thunder just need to tread water for the next two months. But these last two games have shown that it might be harder to do than imagined.
Highlights:
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Player grades: Thunder continue with new grim reality in 119-98 loss to Rockets
