Thunder rolled: Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun lead Rockets (51-27) to brink of No. 2 seed
The Rockets finished off an impressive two-game homestand at Toyota Center with Friday's dominant 125-111 victory (box score) over the Oklahoma City Thunder. With the exception of the game's opening moments, Houston led wire-to-wire — and mostly by commanding margins.
The Thunder (64-13) still hold the NBA's best record and lost for just the second time in 20 games. Meanwhile, Houston (51-27) is at No. 2 in the Western Conference standings and has won 14 of 16, overall. The Rockets now hold a three-game lead for the second seed with only four regular-season games left to play.
In a potential Western Conference Finals preview, it was Houston's duo of fourth-year prospects that stood out most. Jalen Green finished with a game-high 34 points and 5 assists on 11-of-24 shooting (45.8%) and 9-of-10 from the free-throw line (90.0%), while All-Star center Alperen Sengun added 31 points and 4 assists on 11-of-21 shooting (52.4%) and 9-of-12 from the line (75.0%).
"When we want it, there's no team that can beat us in this league," Sengun said postgame.
Featuring a double-big lineup of Sengun and Steven Adams (12 rebounds in 23 minutes), Houston won the rebounding battle, 48-33, and generally controlled the paint versus Oklahoma City's Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein. It also helped that the Rockets had a strong performance off the bench by 6-foot-11 forward Jabari Smith Jr., who grabbed 17 rebounds in 34 minutes.
All-Star forward Jalen Williams led the Thunder with 33 points and 4 assists on 13-of-21 shooting (61.9%). The Rockets held Most Valuable Player (MVP) frontrunner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander relatively in check, with Oklahoma City's All-Star guard finishing with 22 points and 8 assists on 10-of-22 shooting (45.5%) and 1-of-6 from 3-point range (16.7%). Strong defense at the point of attack by Amen Thompson (16 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 blocks) was a key factor.
Veterna Rockets forward Dillon Brooks missed Friday's game due to a suspension for exceeding the league's technical-foul limit during the 2024-25 regular season. He will be eligible to return in Houston's next game on Sunday night.
April 4 Rockets-Thunder Complete Highlights
April 4 Postgame Reaction and Interviews
What's Next
Houston begins a challenging three-game road trip in California with Sunday's matchup against the Golden State Warriors (45-31). Tipoff is at 7:30 p.m. Central. Games in Los Angeles versus the Clippers (44-32) and Lakers (46-29) loom later in the week.
More: 'Head of the snake': Jalen Green credits Ime Udoka for building Houston's culture
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Los Angeles Times
an hour ago
- Los Angeles Times
The secret to Sparks star Cameron Brink's success after her ACL injury? Vision boards
Each morning before Cameron Brink pulls on her Sparks jersey, she scans a taped-up collage in her closet. Olympic rings, a WNBA All-Star crest, snapshots with her fiancé and a scatter of Etsy trinkets crowd the board. The canvas is a handmade constellation of who Brink is and who she longs to be. Between magazine clippings and scribbled affirmations, Brink sees both the grand arc and the small vows that tether her: to show up as a teammate, a daughter and a partner. 'You have a choice every day to have a good outlook or a bad outlook,' said Brink, the Sparks' starting forward. 'I try to choose every day to be positive.' That choice seemed to matter most when the future felt furthest away. The practice emerged in the thick of a 13-month recovery from a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Brink — the Stanford star and Sparks No. 2 draft pick — was forced to measure life in the tiniest ticks of progress after injuring her left knee a month into the 2024 season. Sparks veteran Dearica Hamby recognized how rehab was grinding down the rookie. One afternoon, she invited Brink to her home, where the dining table was set with scissors, glue sticks, stacks of magazines and knickknacks. 'I've always been taught growing up that your mind is your biggest power,' Brink said. 'So I've always been open to stuff like that. I heavily believe in manifesting what you want and powering a positive mindset.' Hamby had been building vision boards for years and believed Brink could use the same practice — both as a pastime and as a mechanism to combat the doubts that surfaced during her lengthy and often lonely rehab. 'If she can visualize it, she can train her mind the opposite of her negative thoughts and feelings,' Hamby said. 'When you see it, you can believe it. Your brain is constantly feeding itself. And if you have something in the back — those doubts — you need something to counter that.' The board dearest to Brink wasn't crowded with stats or accolades. She crafted what she calls her 'wonderful life,' layering in snapshots of her fiancé, Ben Felter, and framed by symbols of family and team. 'You're a product of your mind,' Brink said. 'Everything in my life, I feel like I've fought and been intentional about.' Fighting was what the year demanded. However inspiring the boards looked taped inside her closet, the reality was gradual and often merciless. From the night she was carried off the court last June to the ovation that greeted her return in July, Brink's progress unfolded in inches — from the day she could stand, to the day she could walk to the day she touched the hardwood again. 'It's been such a journey,' Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said. 'Cam's mentality was just trying not to freak out. She was really focused on not being anxious about it.' Brink came to practice with her game on a leash, her activity hemmed in by doctors' timelines. While teammates scrimmaged, she studied sets from the sidelines. Roberts praised her patient attitude as 'great,' a skill Brink sharpened by the ritual of opening her closet and trusting the journey. Kim Hollingdale, the Sparks' psychotherapist, worked closely with Brink during her recovery. While bound by confidentiality, she spoke to how manifestation tools can anchor an athlete through the mental strain of long recovery. 'Being able to stay in touch with where we're ultimately trying to get to can help on those days when it's feeling crappy,' Hollingdale said. 'Visualization helps us be like, 'OK, look, we're still heading to that vision. This is part of the journey.' It gives purpose, direction and a little hope when you're in the mud of recovery.' That sense of purpose, she added, is about giving the brain something familiar to return to when progress stalls — a way for the mind to rehearse what the legs can't. For Brink, that meant keeping her game alive in pictures she ran through her head. Putbacks in the paint became reruns in her mind, and Hollingdale said the brain scarcely knows the difference: If it sees it vividly enough, the muscles prime themselves as if the movement truly happened. What mattered wasn't just mechanics. Tuning out noise became essential as Brink was cleared to return as a WNBA sophomore by calendar yet a rookie by experience. What could have been crushing pressure was dimmed by the vision boards — the 'mental rehearsal,' as Hollingdale labeled it. 'I didn't want to focus on stat lines or accolades coming back from injury,' Brink said. 'I learned the importance of enjoying being out there, controlling what I can control, always having a good attitude — that's what I reframed my mindset to be about.' During Brink's return against the Las Vegas Aces on July 29, she snared an offensive rebound and splashed a three-pointer within the first minute. And since, she has posted 5.9 points and four rebounds an outing, headlined by a 14-point performance through 11 minutes against Seattle. Hollingdale tabbed Brink's return a rarity. She often prepares athletes to weather the gauntlet of 'firsts' — the first shot that clangs, the first whistle, the first crowd cheer — without expecting much beyond survival. But upon Brink's return, those firsts weren't looming unknowns. They were rehearsed memories. 'That is a testament to her being able to manage herself, her emotions and her anxiety and all the stress and pressure,' Hollingdale said. 'To come out and make a meaningful difference to your team straight away speaks to the ability to stay locked in and cut out the noise.' By refusing to sprint through recovery, Hamby said Brink insulated herself from the pressure that shadows young stars. The vision boards, Hamby added, became a tangible expression of Brink's decision to trust herself. 'She's done it differently,' Hamby said. 'For her, it's more of a mental thing than a physical thing. She took her time, not listening to people tell her she should have been back sooner.' When Brink shuts the closet door and heads to Arena for game day, she's already spent the morning tracing the steps of the night. On the next blank corner of her canvas? 'Being an All-Star and going to the Olympics,' she said.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
CITC One City Disability participants compete in international tournament
Manchester City's Charity, City in the Community (CITC), took a trip to the United States to take part in the Genuine World Cup. The Genuine Cup is an international football tournament for people with disabilities and this year, CITC's One City Disability participants were invited to compete. Over 800 attendees from across the world came together at Rice University in Houston, Texas for four days of matches. CITC competed against 36 teams, placing third out of eight in their group. Images of the tournament have come from Genuine Cup Huston and Guuz. Along with the tournament, the participants took a trip to Nasa and watched a Houston Astros baseball game. Lead Coach, Paul Kelly said: 'It was the most inclusive disability football competition I have ever attended. 'It was adapted for all abilities in the best facilities you can imagine, it was so special for everyone who attended. 'Having the opportunity for young people to participate in international events is a dream come true for people with disabilities. 'Our participants had the trip of a lifetime, creating memories which they would have experienced without this trip – we are so very proud of them all.' One City participant, Callum, who played in Houston, said: 'It was an unbelievable experience, playing in a City kit in an international tournament was a dream come true. 'Being part of CITC is like an extended family. 'I've made so many friends, and it has helped me realise my dream of playing football in a City shirt which with my disability, I never thought would happen.' PRIZE DRAW One City Disability provides opportunities for participants, from a wide range of backgrounds, to take part in free football and sporting provision. Sessions range from dwarfism football to powerchair football, amputee football and more. These are held in primary and high schools, as well as in community venues outside of school hours. The programme aims to ensure that participants across Greater Manchester have access to disability specific provision and education. For further information, contact City in the Community empowers healthier lives for city youth through football. To find out more, visit or follow @citcmancity on social media.
an hour ago
Teddy Bridgewater throws 2 TDs as the Buccaneers slip by the Steelers 17-14 in preseason
PITTSBURGH -- For a high school football coach, Teddy Bridgewater can still sling it. The well-traveled Bridgewater threw for a pair of first-quarter touchdowns in Tampa Bay's 17-14 preseason win over Pittsburgh on Saturday night, thrusting himself into the competition with Kyle Trask to be Baker Mayfield's backup in the process. While Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles isn't quite ready to say whether there's now a choice to be made between Bridgewater and Trask, Bridgewater's performance less than two weeks after signing provided pretty compelling evidence that there's still plenty left in the 32-year-old's right arm. Bridgewater, who joined the Buccaneers last week after being suspended from his high school coaching job in Miami for self-reporting that he provided financial benefits to his players, was sharp in his three series of work. He completed 6 of 11 passes for 85 yards, hitting Bucky Irving for a 15-yard touchdown and later delivering a pretty 5-yard lob to the back corner of the end zone that rookie first-round pick Emeka Egbuka pulled in with a sliding grab from his knees. While Mayfield is firmly entrenched as the starter, Bridgewater looked capable while playing against a Pittsburgh defense that sat most of its key contributors, though he brushed aside the notion that he's looking to rise to No. 2 on the depth chart. 'I'm just here to help this team in every way possible,' said Bridgewater, who made it a point to give a shoutout to Northwestern High in Miami after a victory of its own this weekend. "I've been a humble servant throughout my career, playing and coaching.' Chase McLaughlin hit a 42-yard field goal as time expired to win it for the Buccaneers (2-0). Tampa Bay linebacker Antonio Grier's 36-yard interception return — the Buccaneers' sixth pick in two weeks — set up the kick. Two days after a spirited joint practice in which nearly everyone — from Mayfield and wide receiver Mike Evans to Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and All-Pro linebacker T.J. Watt — participated, the spotlight shifted to younger players who will have an opportunity to make an impact on two veteran clubs that have been postseason regulars. Egbuka, the 19th overall pick in the draft, continued an impressive camp by slipping past Steelers cornerback Brandin Echols, then putting his left knee down just before it crossed into the white out-of-bounds paint. 'He's like that every day in practice and it just carries over for him," Bowles said of Egbuka. Pittsburgh first-round pick Derrick Harmon earned his first sack of the preseason by swallowing up Trask for an 11-yard loss. Running back Kaleb Johnson, a third-round selection, took a significant step forward, rushing for 50 yards on 11 carries and showing flashes of the cutback ability that made him a star at Iowa. 'The first game (against Jacksonville) I was really kind of timid reading the (defense),' Johnson said, who had just 20 yards on eight carries against the Jaguars the previous week. 'We were talking all week about how I should be executing and doing better and progressing and developing over time, and I feel like I did that today." Wide receiver Roman Wilson, who missed all of his rookie season last year because of an injury, caught two passes for 72 yards for the Steelers (1-1). He beat two Tampa Bay defenders before hauling in a 42-yard rainbow from Rudolph. Wilson later put together a 30-yard catch-and-run on a night when teammate Calvin Austin III — who is competing with Wilson to be the No. 2 receiver opposite Metcalf — sat out with a minor injury. Steelers defensive lineman Logan Lee filled in as the emergency long snapper after Christian Kunitz left in the first half with a chest injury. Lee hadn't long-snapped since he did a little bit of everything while playing at Orion High School in Orion, Illinois (current population: 1,714). The muscle memory came back (sort of), though Lee admitted there was one thing he learned during his crash course in doing it in the NFL. 'I'm a defensive lineman for sure,' Lee said with a laugh. Buccaneers: WR Jalen McMillan left in the first quarter with a back injury and was being evaluated for a concussion after landing on his head after being undercut by Steelers defensive back Daryl Porter. ... Backup safety Christian Izien injured his oblique. Steelers: LB Nick Herbig, who has become a valuable member of Pittsburgh's pass rush, left in the first quarter with a hamstring injury and did not return. Buccaneers: host Buffalo next Saturday in the preseason finale for both teams.
