Jabari Smith Jr. Scores 30 as Rockets Rout Thunder

Jabari Smith Jr. drilled a 3-pointer to push Houston's lead to 19 early in the third quarter, and the Thunder never got close again. Smith finished with 30 points and nine rebounds as the Houston Rockets beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 119-98 on Saturday night in Houston, per the AP recap.

This was a statement for Houston. The Rockets improve to 6-1, and they did it without Fred VanVleet (right knee injury management) and Reed Sheppard (low back soreness). Oklahoma City, playing its first game since announcing Chet Holmgren will miss at least two months with a right knee injury, has now lost two straight after a 4-0 start and sits at 4-2.

Smith and Smart Lit It Up From Deep

Smith was efficient all night, shooting 10 of 18 overall and 6 of 12 from three, and he finished plus-33 in his 33 minutes. Marcus Smart was even hotter from outside, going 7 of 10 from deep for 24 points in a team-high 36 minutes.

As a team, Houston went 18 of 41 from three while Oklahoma City went 10 of 32. That gap is the whole game.

The Rockets broke it open in the second quarter. Up 37-30 a minute into the period, they ripped off an 18-4 run capped by an Amen Thompson tip-in for a 55-34 lead. OKC closed the half strong to cut it to 62-51, but Houston opened the third on an 8-0 run and the lead never dipped below 12 the rest of the way.

Sengun Back, Durant Quiet

Alperen Sengun returned after missing two games with lower back soreness and had 16 points and nine rebounds. Kevin Durant chipped in 14.

Life Without Chet Starts Rough

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander did his part with 26 points on 10-of-20 shooting, but the help was thin. Kenrich Williams and Bennett Stirtz each had 11, and Isaiah Hartenstein and Jared McCain scored 10 apiece. Without Holmgren protecting the rim and stretching the floor, OKC let Houston's shooters get comfortable, and that is a problem the Thunder will have to solve for the next two months.

Up next, the Thunder visit Cleveland on Monday, and the Rockets host Boston on Monday.

Smacktok Pick Lean

Smart logged a team-high 36 minutes with VanVleet out, and he cashed in with seven threes. If VanVleet sits again Monday against Boston, we are leaning higher on Smart's made threes, because the minutes and the shots are there. On the other side, with Holmgren out, Gilgeous-Alexander is going to carry even more of the scoring for OKC, so we lean higher on his points at Cleveland. Houston looks like a real problem this year, and Rockets fans have every reason to be loud about it.