Oklahoma City Thunder win second-straight with win over the Houston Rockets
The Oklahoma City Thunder (7-4) won their second-straight game with an easy 116-99 victory over the Houston Rockets (3-8) on Wednesday 17 November at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City.
The Rockets dropped their second-straight contest and are now 2-5 on the road this season.
In a game where the Thunder came out on top in every quarter, they were once again led by Kevin Durant, who finished with 24 points, four rebounds, and four assists in just 30 minutes,
significantly lower that his season average of 40.5 minutes. Point guard Russell Westbrook stuffed the stat sheet with 21 points, six rebounds, 12 assists, and two steals, going 9-for-9 from the free throw line. Starters Serge Ibaka and Nenad Krstic had 11
points apiece while D.J. White and James Harden scored 12 and 10 points, respectively, off the bench.
The Rockets, who turned the ball over 17 times last night, were playing without their starting centre Yao Ming, out with a sprained left ankle, for the fifth-straight game. Luis Scola
had a game-high 26 points and pulled down eight rebounds on the night while Kevin Martin, a perfect 9-for-9 from the free throw line, finished with 19 points. Ishmael Smith and Jordan Hill scored 12 and 10 points, respectively, off the bench while Shane Battier,
1-for-6 on the night, finished with a disappointing three points. Starting point guard Kyle Lowry missed all three of his shots to finish with only two points.
When Scola scored the first basket of the game, it would be the only time the Rockets held the lead all night as the Thunder responded with a quick 10-0 run. A three by Houston’s Courtney
Lee tied the game at 30 early in the second quarter but a 13-2 run by the Thunder gave them a 64-53 lead going into the break.
Martin made a layup midway through the third quarter to pull his team within six points but Houston wouldn’t score for the next four minutes, allowing the Thunder to take a 89-74 lead
with just over a minute remaining in the third. The Thunder added to their lead in the fourth when Maynor sunk a three to put them up 99-82. The lead would get as big as 20 points down the stretch.
What they said
Thunder coach Scott Brooks made a deal with his team before the game. If they tallied 20 assists on the night, they would get the next day off. The Thunder, averaging a league-low 16.4
assists going into the game, responded with 26 assists and only nine turnovers.
"Scotty should be saying that a lot," Durant told reporters after the game.
Durant wanted to play a few more minutes last night but was happy his team got the win.
"I don't like it, but we were winning the game and coach wanted to give me some rest," he said. "It was pretty cool that the guys finished it out and got a good win."
Meanwhile, the Rockets weren’t exactly sure what went wrong.
"We just have to figure it out," said Battier. "We've got to grind it out right now."
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