Durant, Westbrook strike as the Thunder edge past Rockets 118-112
For the Oklahoma City Thunder, there haven’t been many upsides to visiting Houston in the past. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook however, changed all that on Wednesday night.
Durant bludgeoned 30 points, while Russell Westbrook added 23 points wrapped with 13 assists, as the Thunder snapped an 11-match losing streak with a 118-112 win.
Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks was adamant pre-match that the Thunder must improve defensively to reach the next level. The team, which boasts of some of the most feared perimeter shooters in the league, has had it tough in
defence all season. Oklahoma City is ranked 20th in terms of points allowed per game (101.2), giving up at least 105 points in 18 games this season.
The Thunder showed flashes of a stingy and hustling defence in the second half on Wednesday night, but only after Brooks gave them a dressing for playing so lax in the first.
After an evenly contested first half, the Oklahoma outfit effectively eliminated the kinks in their defensive armoury and at the same time shot at 61 percent from the field, as they responded vociferously to their coach’s call. An
hour after he vented his wrath at the players, Scott Brooks was happy and retorted sarcastically about the losing streak.
"How long has it been? I haven't read that the last two days."
The Rockets were spearheaded by the phenomenal Luis Scola, who hammered 31 points. The lanky forward however had none in the fourth quarter as Houston struggled to keep pace with the red hot Thunder down the stretch.
Playing without leading scorer Kevin Martin (sore right wrist) and backup centre Brad Miller (sore left-knee) for the second straight game, Houston scored a season-high 70 points in the paint, but went 5 for 18 from the three-point
range. Courtney Lee scored 19 points off the bench while Aaron Brooks, Kyle Lowry and Chase Budinger all notched up double figures for the Rockets.
First Half
Oklahoma City got off to a rollicking start as they rattled off an 8-2 run within the first three minutes of the match. Houston’s counter-punch though, didn’t have to wait too long, as the home-team gradually chipped away at
the Thunder advantage.
Scola was in the groove early. With 2:34 to go until the first buzzer, he took his tally to 13 points as he netted a jumper to draw level at 24. Durant countered by scoring seven straight from the other end, but Lee and Lowry
ensured that the teams headed into the second period, tied at 31.
The epic battle ensued in the second period with both teams displaying up-tempo offensive prowess. Houston though finished the first half slightly ahead at 54-52. The Rockets managed only 1 for 7 from beyond the arc in the first
half. They however, scored 36 points in the paint to maintain their advantage upfront. Scola led Houston with 16 points while Kyle Lowry scored 14 first-half points.
Second Half
The Thunder hit the ground running in the third quarter. Durant sank one from downtown to spark a 14-4 spurt early in the frame. The Rockets missed seven of their first 11 shots after half time as Oklahoma City built a 72-62
lead midway. Scola though, kept on heaping pressure on the visitors and scored 11-points in a row, making it a five-point game going into the last two minutes of the frame.
Scola scored 15 points on 7-for-10 shooting in the third quarter, as Houston trailed 82-79 heading into the fourth.
The Thunder though, managed to get the better of Scola in the last 12 minutes, reducing him to just two attempts. He connected on neither one of them. However, just when the Thunder clamped down Scola, Chase Budinger stepped
up to the party. He scored seven consecutive points to keep Houston within striking distance early in the fourth.
Patrick Patterson then nailed one with 9:12 to go, to tie the score at 90-all. At that point, the visitors romped to a match-breaking 17-4 run, and turned a deadlock into a 107-94 advantage with less than three minutes remaining.
The match was not over yet and the tenacious Houston outfit still had some fight left in them. The Rockets scored on all of their next six possessions, opening up a 14-3 spurt that pulled them within two, with 20 seconds left
on the clock.
This was the closest the Rockets got on the night though, as the Thunder went on a charity stripe-shooting spree to seal the match at 118-112.
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