Bogdanović’s five threes help Rockets finish preseason with 116-89 win

Bogdan Bogdanović made five three-pointers in the second half and the Houston Rockets beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 116-89 Thursday night at Toyota Center, closing their preseason with a 27-point win.

Bogdanović led Houston with 15 points in 16 minutes. He made three threes to open the second half, turning a 54-47 halftime lead into a 63-47 advantage before Oklahoma City scored in the third quarter. He added two more from deep in the fourth as Houston pulled away.

The Rockets had already built one large lead before halftime. Amen Thompson scored their first eight points, including three dunks, and Houston broke an 8-8 tie with an 18-0 run. Tari Eason supplied a three-pointer and a dunk during that stretch, with Kevin Durant and Reed Sheppard also scoring.

Houston led 33-15 after the opening quarter. Oklahoma City recovered enough to outscore the Rockets 32-21 in the second, getting within two points on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s three-point play with 3:17 left in the half. Houston finished the period with baskets from Alperen Şengün, Durant and Jabari Smith Jr. to restore a seven-point cushion.

The Thunder never caught up after Bogdanović’s burst to begin the third. Houston carried a 79-69 lead into the fourth and outscored Oklahoma City 37-20 over the final 12 minutes. Sheppard opened the quarter with a three; Isaiah Crawford and Bruce Thornton also connected from outside before Bogdanović’s final two threes pushed the margin to 20.

Şengün finished with 14 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two blocks. Thompson had 12 points, five rebounds and four assists, while Eason scored 12 on 5-for-7 shooting. Durant and Sheppard each added 11 points. Fred VanVleet supplied eight assists without a turnover in 29 minutes.

Houston finished with 34 assists and eight turnovers. The Rockets made 17 of 53 three-point attempts, with Bogdanović going 5-for-8 and Eason making both of his tries. Their starters and reserves combined for 47 field goals, and no Rocket played more than VanVleet’s 29 minutes.

Jalen Williams led the Thunder with 18 points and seven rebounds. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 17, making five of 12 shots and all five of his free throws. Isaiah Hartenstein had eight rebounds, while reserve center Aday Mara collected nine to go with six points.

Oklahoma City struggled to produce offense from outside. Williams and Gilgeous-Alexander each made two threes, and Bennett Stirtz made the other. The Thunder finished 5-for-36 from beyond the arc; Jared McCain missed all eight of his attempts and scored eight points on 3-for-13 shooting overall.

The Rockets finished the preseason 2-1. Oklahoma City ended its exhibition schedule 1-4, with the season opener still ahead. Thursday’s result came with both teams’ leading players getting limited minutes, including 16 for Durant and 26 for Gilgeous-Alexander.

Sources

• ESPN: final box score and play-by-play
• NBA: Thunder-Rockets official game page
• OKC Thunder Wire/Clemente Almanza: Thursday game coverage