Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, injury-shortened OKC Thunder fall to red-hot Houston Rockets

HOUSTON — On a Halloween night in Houston, Alex Caruso's Spider Sense must've been tingling.The otherworldly defender knows what opposing players will do before they do it, but he couldn't put his powers to good use Saturday. He instead had to sit on the Thunder's bench in street clothes, not his usual super suit, throughout a road game against the Rockets.Caruso missed the contest due to a sprained right ankle. So did Chet Holmgren (right knee patellar tendinitis), Jalen Williams (left ankle surgery), Cason Wallace (left shoulder labral tear), Nikola Topić (low back surgery) and Thomas Sorber (right knee surgery).That was too much to overcome for OKC, which suffered a 119-98 loss to Houston. The Thunder has now fallen to 4-2 on the season.Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led OKC with 26 points, four rebounds and three assists in 30 minutes. Kenrich Williams also added 11 points, seven rebounds and three assists in 21 minutes.Here are three takeaways from the loss:Thunder vs Rockets live updates: SGA, OKC visit Kevin Durant, HoustonJared McCain took shot creation pressure off of Shai Gilgeous-AlexanderJared McCain is known for his polished fingernails, and yet he doesn't touch the paint much during games.The third-year guard is primarily a catch-and-shoot threat instead. Someone who excels at finding open spots and using his quick release to let it fly before a defender can close in. It's a valuable weapon for OKC. But with Williams now sidelined for the foreseeable future, the Thunder needs more firepower in the shot creation department. And McCain stepped up on Saturday.McCain used a snatch-back move to throw Bogdan Bogdanovic off balance on the perimeter during the first quarter. Then he blew past him with a burst of speed. Then he showed a nice touch by sinking a finger-roll layup over Alperen Sengun.McCain continued to apply pressure at the rim throughout Saturday night, taking some pressure off of Gilgeous-Alexander. His efficiency took a hit because of his poor shooting from deep, but he finished with 10 points and four rebounds on 5-for-14 shooting from the field (0 for 5 from deep) in 27 minutes.But OKC still needed more shot creation from its supporting cast. It unfortunately didn't get much from Ajay Mitchell, who averaged 29.5 points in the last two games. He only finished with six points and five assists on 3-for-9 shooting from the field (0 for 3 from deep) in 26 minutes.More How Jared McCain made most of his first NBA offseason with OKC ThunderShai Gilgeous-Alexander still gets buckets despite added attentionGilgeous-Alexander got a feel for Texas traffic during OKC's blowout road loss to Dallas on Thursday. He struggled to navigate congested lanes, scoring just 21 points on 7-for-19 shooting from the field (1 for 6 from deep).But Gilgeous-Alexander looked far more comfortable behind the wheel in Houston on Saturday night. And even a couple of pile-ups in the paints couldn't slow him down.Gilgeous-Alexander got into the lane late in the second quarter and had three Rockets players converge on him, blocking off a path to the rim. So he found the baseline instead and sank a high-arcing shot over the outstretched hands of Clint Capela. Scoring will be even tougher now that Williams, OKC's second scoring option, is sidelined. Defenses can key in on him even more. But Saturday was proof that the league's best tough shot maker can still get buckets despite that added attention.Gilgeous-Alexander scored his 26 points on 10-for-20 shooting from the field and 3-for-6 shooting from deep.More: OKC Thunder searching for answers, not sympathy, amid wave of injuriesGenerating turnovers is a struggle without main defensive disruptorsOKC's defense usually leaves its fingerprint all over the game. But on Saturday, it couldn't seem to get its hands on the ball.The Thunder only forced 14 turnovers and converted them into 16 points, and most of them came in garbage time. It's a dropoff from last season, where the team ranked second in the NBA in turnovers forced per game (16.7) and first in points off turnovers (22).That's a direct result of being without Wallace, Williams and Caruso. All three guys are former All-Defensive players, and all of them are elite at forcing turnovers that lead to buckets on the other end.OKC also struggled to get stops in general. Houston shot 45.6% from the field and 43.9% from deep in the win. It certainly hurt that Holmgren, another All-Defensive player who's elite at protecting the rim, couldn't suit up.The hope is that Caruso will return soon after being sidelined for the past two games due to a sprained right ankle. But Williams and Wallace both underwent surgery this week and will be re-evaluated prior to the end of the regular season. Holmgren is out for 8-to-10 weeks.More: Don't forget about Cason Wallace. OKC Thunder shows support following shoulder injuryJustin Martinez covers the Thunder and NBA for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Justin? He can be reached at jmartinez@oklahoman.com or on X/Twitter at @Justintohoops. Sign up for the Thunder Sports Minute newsletter to access more NBA coverage. Support Justin's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, injury-shortened OKC Thunder fall to red-hot Houston Rockets