Jabari Smith Jr. scores 30 as Rockets rout Thunder 119-98

Jabari Smith Jr. scored 30 points and made six threes as the Houston Rockets beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 119-98 on Saturday, October 31, at Toyota Center.

Smith shot 10 of 18 and grabbed nine rebounds in 33 minutes. Houston outscored Oklahoma City by 33 points while he was on the floor.

Marcus Smart added 24 points, going 7 of 10, all from three. Alperen Sengun had 16 points and nine assists.

Houston led 35-26 after the first quarter and used a 10-0 run in the second to make it 55-34. Oklahoma City answered with a 10-0 run of its own to get within 55-44, but the Rockets answered with another 10-0 run that spanned halftime and led 70-51 early in the third quarter.

A final 10-0 burst early in the fourth quarter, ending with 7:46 left, made it 108-81, the biggest lead of the night at 27 points.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led Oklahoma City with 26 points on 10-of-20 shooting. The Thunder made 10 of 32 threes, and Jared McCain missed all five of his attempts.

Houston's effective field goal percentage was 55.6, against 49.4 for Oklahoma City. The Rockets grabbed 13 offensive rebounds to the Thunder's 10 and committed 10 turnovers to 13. The Thunder bench outscored Houston's 35-27.

Bruce Thornton hit a 26-foot three with 28.1 seconds left for the last Houston points, and Brooks Barnhizer closed the scoring for Oklahoma City at the line.

Houston improved to 6-1, and Oklahoma City fell to 4-2.

Up next

Thunder: at the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday, November 2.

Rockets: vs. the Boston Celtics on Monday, November 2.