The Houston Rockets were rolling against the Oklahoma City Thunder, and Tari Eason made sure one of the night’s loudest highlights came in garbage-time fashion.
With Houston already up 110-86 midway through the fourth quarter, Eason came off the bench and threw down a monster dunk over Aday Mara that turned into the kind of poster that travels fast. It was a fitting exclamation point on a game that had already tilted heavily in the Rockets’ favor.
Jabari Smith Jr. powered Houston’s attack with 30 points, nine rebounds and five assists, giving the Rockets the kind of lead that made the rest of the night feel like a formality. Marcus Smart backed him up with 24 points, five rebounds and two assists, knocking down 7 of 10 shots and going 3 for 3 from deep.
TARI EASON WITH A MONSTER SLAM 🤯 pic.twitter.com/GFL1UDLPyg
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) November 1, 2026
Kevin Durant had a quieter night by his standards, finishing with 14 points, four assists and three rebounds while shooting 4 for 9 from the field. Alperen Sengun was close to a triple-double, putting up 16 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds in 33 minutes, though he hit just 6 of his 17 attempts.
Eason finished with eight points, three rebounds and two assists in less than three minutes left in the game, but the dunk was the moment that stood out. The Rockets were making the most of a Thunder roster missing several starters, with Chet Holmgren recently joining Cason Wallace and Jalen Williams on the injury list.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led Oklahoma City with 26 points and four rebounds on 10-for-21 shooting, but the Thunder had trouble generating steady offense with so many key pieces unavailable. The loss pushed them closer to their second defeat of the season.
For Houston, the result moved them to 6-1, at least temporarily putting them atop the Western Conference.
In Other News...
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For now, it remains more speculation than anything else, with Dallas not showing any recent interest in moving Irving. Still, the possibility has enough intrigue to keep other teams around the league watching, including the Miami Heat, while Houstons name comes up because it has the kind of draft capital that could make a deal plausible if the Mavericks ever changed course. [Read more 🡒]
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Ime Udoka Has The Rockets Looking Like More Than A Fun Surprise
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What makes the development especially notable is how the system has started to bring more out of the young core, giving the Rockets a sturdier foundation than just a hot stretch. Jabari Smith Jr. and Alperen Sengun have both benefited from the coaching and the offensive structure around them, which is why this feels like more than a fun surprise. Houston is starting to look like a team with a real identity, and the next question is how far that can carry them once the season gets into its tougher stretches. [Read more 🡒]