NBA Summer League: Giddey fails to send game to overtime, OKC falls 90-88 to Houston

The Oklahoma City Thunder (0-1) lost to the Houston Rockets (1-1) 90-88 in their first game of the 2022 NBA2K23 Las Vegas Summer League Saturday.

Rookie guard Jalen Williams led all Thunder scorers with 15 points on 7-for-12 shooting (0-for-2 from 3), while garnering five rebounds, one assist and two steals. Williams was also a factor defensively, holding forward Jabari Smith Jr. 5-for-19 on the game.

Sophomore forward Josh Giddey added 14 points (6-for-15 shooting), four rebounds and eight assists.

The Thunder started off the first quarter with a 19-12 lead over the Rockets in the first 6:06 of the game. Following the tipoff, sophomore forward Aaron Wiggins nailed a 29-foot three pointer in the first 14 seconds of the game. Moments later in the game, Wiggins scored a 3 and a layup in back-to-back possessions with 6:25 remaining in the period. Oklahoma City ended the quarter with a 25-21 lead.

Both teams traded leads midway through the second quarter, but Oklahoma City re-took a 36-34 lead, on a Wiggins’ driving dunk with 4:57 remaining. Then, Rookie forward Chet Holmgren converted a dunk on an up-and-under assist from Giddey, which extended the Thunder’s lead to four points with 4:21 remaining in the first half. The Rockets went on a 8-0 run to take a 45-40 lead to end the quarter.

Holmgren notched three blocks and rookie guard Jalen Williams scored six of Oklahoma City’s eight points in the first 2:07 of the third quarter to retake a 48-47 lead. The Thunder and Houston ended the quarter trading buckets, scoring 17 points each in the final 6:53 of the quarter. OKC still led 65-64 entering the final quarter of the game.

Guard Tre Mann, who struggled with only four points on a 1-for-13 clip, missed a 16-foot step-back to start the fourth quarter. Alongside Mann’s miss, the Thunder missed two more shots to start 0-for-3. Despite the slow beginning to the quarter, Williams gave OKC a 78-77 lead on a cutting layup with 4:57 remaining in the game.

Ultimately, Houston did not relent, taking over the game with a three point lead from forward Josh Christopher with 10.1 seconds remaining. After getting back within two points on Mann’s free throws, Giddey could not convert a game-tying layup to send the game to overtime.

Next, the Thunder will face the Orlando Magic (2-0) at 8 p.m. CT on Monday, July 11, in Las Vegas.