The Thunder are back on the road Thursday night for their first meeting with the Rockets since that wild, double-overtime season opener nearly three months ago. Oklahoma City arrives riding momentum from a 119-98 win over San Antonio

Houston, meanwhile, is in a different kind of fight. The Rockets are trying to stabilize after a rough West Coast trip and some ugly offensive stretches.

Game info

Date: Thursday, Jan. 15
Time: 6:30 p.m. CST (7:30 p.m. ET)
Where: Toyota Center (Houston)
TV: FanDuel Sports Network
Streaming: Prime Video

OKC beats Spurs

Oklahoma City’s 119-98 win over the Spurs wasn’t just a “nice bounce-back.” It was a reminder of what the Thunder look like when everything matches up pressure defense, paint touches, and that third-quarter surge that turns a close game into separation.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with 34 points on 11-for-23 shooting, and the Thunder’s league-best defense set the tone. Against San Antonio, OKC forced 12 turnovers, held the Spurs to 40% shooting, and edged the rebounding battle 43-42. Offensively, it wasn’t perfect, but it was connected: 56 points in the paint, 26 assists, and 27 free throw attempts.

As Gilgeous-Alexander put it, the defensive recipe was simple and physical: “We did a good job of keeping them in front of us… keeping our body in between their body as they drive… and then they had to score over top of us.”

And when the Thunder are getting stops, everything opens up on the other end.

“It’s a combination of both screening, playing with pace,” Shai said. “But also, when you’re able to get stops and play in the open floor, things come more naturally… You’ve got to play in space. Playing in a crowd is not the recipe against a good defensive team.”

Mark Daigneault’s message

After the Spurs win, Thunder coach Mark Daigneault sounded less like a coach celebrating a January win and more like a coach guarding the standard.

“Every single game’s an opportunity to be as consistent to your identity as you can,” Daigneault said. “Even in the worst games, you have great possessions; even in the best games, you have bad possessions. We’re just trying to be as consistent as possible, possession-by-possession, game after game.”

He also pointed to the Thunder’s energy and togetherness as the baseline before anything else matters.

“It’s like a prerequisite if you want to win the game,” Daigneault said. “You’ve got to bring a certain compete level and a certain togetherness… From there, you can focus on executing.”

That’s the version of OKC that showed up Tuesday especially in the third quarter, when Shai scored 15 in the period, Jalen Williams added 10, and the Thunder shot nearly 70% in the quarter while ripping off a 22-7 run to end it.

Injury report (as of 1:30 Thursday)

Oklahoma City Thunder

Luguentz Dort — Questionable: Injury/Illness (left foot soreness)
Isaiah Hartenstein — Out: Injury/Illness (right soleus strain)

Houston Rockets

Isaiah Crawford — Out: G League (Two-Way)
Tari Eason — Out: Injury/Illness (right ankle sprain)
Dorian Finney-Smith — Out: Injury/Illness (left ankle injury management)
Tristen Newton — Out: G League (Two-Way)

Jaylin Williams: “We love to muck the game up.”

Jaylin Williams has been back in the mix, and he sounded like a guy who’s been waiting to feel the juice again the crowd, the runs, the collisions, the whole thing.

Offensively, he credited OKC’s downhill style for why the paint opened up: “Just our normal way of playing basketball collisions, setting screens, gassing it off the screen. We have some of the best… guys for downhill attacks.”

And defensively, he said the Thunder’s blue-collar group embraces the grime: “I think I’m speaking for all three of us when I say we love to muck the game up… be physical, compete, those type of things.”

He also admitted the time away made the moments feel bigger: “You don’t realize how much you miss or love something until you don’t have it… I’m a competitor. I love to compete.”

Jalen Williams: Attention to detail is the whole thing

For Jalen Williams, the Spurs game was a reminder of what it looks like when OKC plays connected for a full 48.

“Just did a really good job of paying attention to detail throughout the whole entire game,” he said. “When you play a team that good, it forces you to be on your P’s and Q’s the whole entire game.”

He also pointed to ball movement as the doorway to easy offense even when the shot isn’t falling.

“We’re a team where when the ball moves, it has energy,” JDub said. “Even on nights where you don’t shoot the ball well, when you move it, you get those cracks at layups.”

That “energy offense” is exactly what Houston will try to take away.

Houston Homestand

The Rockets enter Thursday 23-14 and sixth in the West, just 2.5 games behind the No. 2 seed but their offense has sputtered lately, especially from deep. They’ve shot below 30% from three in each of their last five games, and they’ve needed more help beyond their top guys.

Jabari Smith Jr. had been stuck in a brutal January slump (30.1% shooting this month, 17.1% from three entering the game), then missed his first five 3s Tuesday… before flipping the night in the fourth quarter with 10 points, including a late sequence with two huge threes.

Houston needs that confidence to spread, because the Rockets are heading into a homestand that can shape the next chunk of their season. Rockets have only played 14 home games so far this season, the lowest total in the NBA. They play 13 of their next 20 at home.

The matchup to watch: OKC’s pressure vs. Houston’s trio

The Rockets’ triple threat of Kevin Durant (26.1 ppg), Alperen Şengün (21.7) and Amen Thompson (18.8) has been productive together, posting a combined 120.7 offensive rating seventh-best among all trios.

But the Thunder are built to squeeze the air out of possessions when they’re locked in and Daigneault tied that directly to how OKC starts its offense and sets its defense.

“It starts with your offense… taking rhythmic, predictable shots… and then getting back, setting your defense with great precision and focus,” he said.

For Oklahoma City, Thursday is another chance to string together “identity games” the kind where the defense travels and the offense doesn’t stall into isolation.