Rockets expose Thunder's biggest weakness in blowout win

Last season, the top-seeded Thunder lost in the second round to the Dallas Mavericks, in large part due to the Mavs' multiple big men controlling the boards. Friday night, the Rockets started a two-center lineup with Alperen Sengun alongside Steven Adams, with 6-foot-10 Jabari Smith Jr. coming off the bench. The result was a 48-33 rebounding advantage and a 125-111 victory.

Sengun had 31 points, while Adams collected 12 rebounds in just 23 minutes. Thunder big men Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein shot an efficient 14-of-19 and combined for 36 points but had 11 total rebounds, one fewer than Adams alone. Off the bench, Smith scored nine points and grabbed 17 rebounds.

Oklahoma City signed Hartenstein to a big-money deal this summer in order to beef up its inside presence and even its rebounding deficit. The ball-hawking Thunder have a great defense but also rely on undersized players like 6-foot-5 Jalen Williams at forward.

Williams scored 33 points Friday and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 22, while the Thunder shot a solid 48.3 percent. But they simply couldn't corral enough rebounds compared to the Rockets, who also got eight rebounds and six assists from 6-foot-7 Amen Thompson, who also blocked two shots.

One of those blocks came on SGA in the final quarter. Thompson's combination of speed, strength and height make him one of the few players who can reliably check Gilgeous-Alexander, at least for a little while.

The Thunder had won 11 straight, but the Rockets have won 14 of their last 16 games. While the two teams likely can't meet until the conference finals, the plus-sized Rockets are showing they could be a serious threat to the Thunder in May.