Carl Landry and Trevor Ariza hit big shots and
ended with 21 points each, as Houston logged a 105-94 victory against Oklahoma
City.
The Rockets have dominated the Thunder franchise recently, winning 11 straight
overall and nine consecutive in Houston.
Luis Scola scored 19 and secured 10 rebounds, while rookie forward Chase
Budinger continued his impressive start with 16 points in a little over 21 1/2
minutes off the bench
Aaron Brooks added 11 points and six assists for the Rockets, who have won
four of their last five.
Russell Westbrook piled up 33 points, one shy of his career high, doled out
seven assists and grabbed five rebounds for Oklahoma City, which has lost
three in a row.
Kevin Durant posted 27 points and nine boards to finish as the only other
Thunder player in double figures.
The Rockets held a five-point lead coming out of halftime and wasted little
time in stretching that mark to double digits.
Brooks scored Houston's first seven points of the third in short order, and
after a Durant layup, Scola had the next six points for a 63-49 margin just
five minutes in.
The Thunder got back within nine, 66-57, on a Westbrook jumper with just under
five minutes remaining, but the Rockets kept up the pressure with Landry's
three-point play inside the final minute allowing for an 80-69 Houston lead
entering the fourth.
Oklahoma City remained within striking distance of the lead as Durant's
three-point play with close to 7 1/2 minutes left made it an 88-81 game.
Ariza, though, responded in kind to wipe out the points and his two free
throws a short time later had the Rockets holding an 11-point lead approaching
the five-minute mark.
In a last ditch effort, the Thunder rattled off three buckets in just outside
a minute to get back within single digits, but Landry responded on the other
end with a layup and Houston came out with the win.
Houston took a 26-21 lead into the second quarter and stretched its advantage
to 10, 43-33, on an 11-2 run through the middle stages of the session.
After a Shaun Livingston jumper cut the lead to one, Shane Battier drove to
the hoop for two and Budinger followed with a three-pointer and then slammed
for two.
James Harden interrupted the stretch with a running bank shot, but Landry
answered with a dunk and Chuck Hayes followed that with a layup approaching
the 4 1/2-minute mark.
Westbrook scored the final 10 points of the half for Oklahoma City to stay
within five, 50-45, at the break.
Game Notes
Landry was 8-of-12 from the floor and also grabbed nine rebounds. Ariza
finished 8-of-18, including a pair of three-pointers, while adding six assists
and five boards. Battier had nine points for Houston, which shot 53.8 percent
from the field...The Thunder shot 43.5 percent and only 70.6 percent (12-
of-17) from the free throw line...The Rockets' Kyle Lowry notched a game-high
eight assists.
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