Houston, TX – Russell Westbrook scored 28 points and Kevin Durant tallied 26 as the Oklahoma City Thunder delivered their highest scoring output of the season in a 124-94 thrashing of the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center.
Westbrook added eight assists and eight rebounds, while Kevin Martin racked up 19 points off the bench to help the Thunder top their previous scoring high. That also came against the Rockets, a 120-98 rout in Oklahoma City on Nov. 28 that marked the first meeting between the teams since the preseason trade that sent star guard James Harden to Houston.
Much of the damage came from beyond the arc, with Oklahoma City knocking down 13-of-29 shots from three-point range. Martin went 5-of-8 from long distance, with Durant hitting on 4-of-9 attempts.
"I just wanted to get going," Durant said of his performance. "My teammates always believe in me and I believe in myself. I just wanted to come off and shoot a good shot."
Harden finished with 25 points against his former club, but shot just 6-of-17 from the field. Marcus Morris notched a career-high 24 points and Toney Douglas scored 17 for Houston, which was dealt a second straight loss following a season-best five-game win streak.
The game was tight for much of the first half, with the Thunder clinging to a 52-50 edge four minutes before intermission as both teams scored at a breakneck pace. Oklahoma City then ripped off 16 consecutive points to finish out the second quarter and break things open.
Durant netted the first eight points of the surge, then closed it out with a 27-footer shortly before the buzzer that staked the Thunder to a commanding 68-50 advantage.
Houston began the third quarter with a 7-2 run to cut into the deficit, but never drew closer. Oklahoma City players accounted for 17 of the next 18 points, with another Durant triple followed by a three-point play from Serge Ibaka putting the Thunder ahead by a whopping 87-58 count with five minutes to go in the period.
"We were in it in the first half and we just had a couple mistakes," Harden said of the loss. "Small things like that we have to stay away from in order to beat good teams like these last two teams."
The Thunder continued to roll from there, with the lead growing to 34 points when a Martin trey following a Nick Collison putback made the score 117-83 entering the final five minutes.
Houston did start out strongly and built a 24-19 lead after Douglas drove the lane and scored with 2:38 left in the first quarter. Oklahoma City would finish out the frame on a 12-2 spurt capped by Martin's 3-point basket to go up 31-26, and the contest remained close until the Thunder took control near the conclusion of the half.
Game Notes
Morris' previous career high was 19 points, set at Toronto on Dec. 16 ... Collison recorded a double-double off the bench for the Thunder, finishing with 12 points and 10 rebounds ... Oklahoma City went 21-of-23 from the foul line for the game and scored 32 points off 24 Houston turnovers ... Oklahoma City has now won six of the last eight bouts in the series.
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