The Rockets bury the short-handed Thunder 119-98 as Marcus Smart hits seven 3s

The Thunder looked exactly as thin as their injury report said. Houston beat Oklahoma City 119-98 on Saturday night at Toyota Center, and the Rockets did it by making 18 of 41 threes against a team missing Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams and Alex Caruso.

Jabari Smith Jr. led Houston with 30 points and nine rebounds on 10-of-18 shooting, including 6 of 12 from 3. Marcus Smart scored 24 and went 7 of 10 from deep, and he was a plus-20. Alperen Sengun, back after missing two games with lower back soreness, had 16 points, nine rebounds and 10 assists, per the AP recap on ESPN. Kevin Durant scored 14.

The game broke open early in the second quarter. Houston led 37-30, then ran off an 18-4 stretch for a 55-34 lead on an Amen Thompson tip-in with 6:10 left in the half. The Thunder cut it to 62-51 by halftime, and then the Rockets opened the third with an 8-0 run. Houston's lead never fell below 12 after that.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander did what he could with 26 points on 10-of-20 shooting. After him, the Thunder had Kenrich Williams and Bennett Stirtz at 11 each and Isaiah Hartenstein and Jared McCain at 10. That is not a supporting cast that wins on the road in Houston. OKC shot 10 of 32 from 3.

This was the Thunder's first game since the team announced Friday that Holmgren will miss at least two months with a right knee injury, and they also backed out of a planned Ochai Agbaji signing on Saturday. A team that started 4-0 has now lost two in a row.

Houston is 6-1 and still missing pieces of its own. Fred VanVleet sat for right knee injury management and Reed Sheppard missed a second straight game with low back soreness. The Rockets still won by 21.

What's next: The Thunder visit Cleveland on Monday. The Rockets host Boston on Monday.