Tari Eason scored a season-high 26 points as the Houston Rockets pulled away late to defeat the short-handed Oklahoma City Thunder 112–106 on Saturday night.

Houston got a balanced effort across the lineup. Alperen Şengün posted 17 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists for his second triple-double of the season and 10th of his career. Jabari Smith Jr. added 22 points and 10 rebounds, while Kevin Durant finished with 20 points.

Oklahoma City was playing its second straight game without reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who remains sidelined with an abdominal strain and is expected to be out until after the All-Star break. The Thunder were also without All-Star Jalen Williams (hamstring) and second-year guard Ajay Mitchell, one of this year’s Rising Stars selections.

Despite the absences, the Thunder competed throughout. Cason Wallace led Oklahoma City with 23 points, and Isaiah Joe added 21. The Thunder built a 46–32 lead in the second quarter and carried a 52–46 advantage into halftime, with Chet Holmgren recording 10 points and 10 rebounds in the opening half.

Second-year guard Jared McCain made his Thunder debut after arriving in a trade with Philadelphia, checking in late in the first quarter to loud cheers. He finished with five points in 14 minutes, scoring his first bucket midway through the second quarter.

Houston flipped the game in the third quarter, outscoring Oklahoma City and taking an 80–74 lead into the fourth. Durant, who was booed during pregame introductions by Thunder fans still upset over his departure nearly a decade ago, hit a short jumper late to extend the Rockets’ lead to 107–101 with just over a minute remaining.

The Thunder missed 10 free throws on the night and couldn’t close the gap late as Eason delivered timely baskets for Houston.

After the game, Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault praised his team’s effort despite the result.

“We really attacked the game, both ends of the floor, played the right way,” Daigneault said. “We were competitive and we were together. It came down, obviously, to a couple of plays. They made a couple more plays than us. In terms of what we could control, there was some execution stuff on both ends that just wasn’t clean enough.”The loss was Oklahoma City’s second straight at home. The Thunder head to Los Angeles next to face the Lakers on Monday night.