Rockets lose 20th straight after tight finish vs. Thunder

Just when you think this nightmare will end... psych!

The Houston Rockets lost their 20th consecutive game Sunday afternoon against the Oklahoma City Thunder in a 114-112 defeat.

It’s the closest margin of any game within the franchise-record losing streak, and the Rockets had multiple chances to win.

Down a point with 1:13 to go, Jae’Sean Tate blocked Aleksej Pokusevski’s jumper and Victor Oladipo had a chance to seal the fast break with a pass to Tate and take the lead. However, he missed Tate and pulled up to miss a three.

The defense was there down the stretch with the Rockets getting another stop on the ensuing possession, but John Wall couldn’t get the job done on a layup that was blocked by Lu Dort, who scored a team-high 23 for the Thunder.

Despite the two missed opportunities, the Rockets still had a chance to pull a win out down two with six seconds to go. Needing just a bucket to tie, the Rockets opted for a shot a few feet beyond the three-point line from John Wall that missed and led to a 20th straight defeat for the Rockets.

OKC winning this game can be lead to the poor execution down the stretch from Houston and its offensive rebounding. The Thunder grabbed 19 offensive rebounds and out-rebounded the Rockets 52-30.

The loss devalues a lot of the strong offensive efforts from the team today, including a game-high 27 from Christian Wood, a 9-15 shooting performance from Victor Oladipo and an 18-point game from Danuel House.

D.J. Wilson also looked strong off the bench in his second game as a Rocket.

There were some positives to pick up on today, but a loss is still a loss for these snake-bit Rockets.

The team will look to snap the losing streak once again tomorrow night when the Toronto Raptors come to town. Tipoff is at 8 p.m. CT.