Career Nights from Cam Whitmore and Reed Sheppard Not Enough to Beat Thunder

The Houston Rockets came into Monday night trying to shake off a tough loss to the Sacramento Kings, but would have to overcome multiple absences as four of their starters would be missing against their matchup with the No. 1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder.

Star guard Jalen Green was the only starter active for Houston Monday night while Oklahoma City saw the return of its full lineup as Chet Holmgren came back from his injury.

Despite being short-handed, the Rockets came out the gates hot, keeping up with the Thunder's fast-paced offense throughout the first half. Green found his groove early on, getting to his spots and hitting tough jumpers.

Rookie Reed Sheppard earned his first start Monday night, and made an impact immediately, scoring double-digit points through two quarters. Houston kept the game close in the first half, trailing by just one point at the end of two quarters. However, superstar guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander wasn't going to let that last long.

Gilgeous-Alexander took over in the third quarter, hitting multiple three-point shots and scoring at-will around the rim. He hit the 40-point mark mid-way through the third quarter, leading Oklahoma City to a double-digit lead heading into the fourth.

The Rockets were able to go on a run to begin the fourth as Sheppard got the offense rolling early on in a comeback effort, but the Thunder forward Lu Dort ended that run quickly, hitting back-to-back threes to push Oklahoma City's lead back to double digits.

That lead, along with Gilgeous-Alexander's 51 points, proved to be too much to overcome for Houston as the Thunder were able to close out the Rockets, 137-128.

Sheppard led the way for Houston Monday night. He arguably had his best performance of the season in his first start, scoring 25 points on 10-of-17 shooting while also dishing out five assists. The rookie guard was also active on the defensive end, recording two steals and a block.

The Rockets will look to put this loss behind them as they will face the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night as part of their back-to-back, hopefully with more of their starters back in the lineup.

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