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[av_heading heading=’Harden lifts Rockets past dominant Westbrook, OKC’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”][/av_heading]
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Saturday, January 7, 2017
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TEXAS – Russell Westbrook repeatedly had his way with the Rockets defense, torching it to the tune of a Toyota Center scoring record for an opponent before three late misses set the table for James Harden to play the role of facilitator at the most opportune time for Houston.
Nene corralled a pass from Harden, absorbed a foul, and sank two free throws with 0.7 seconds left as the Houston Rockets eked out a 118-116 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night.
Off an inbounds play originating with 3.8 seconds left, Nene set a screen for Harden and rolled to the rim. Harden followed by passing out of the double team, hitting Nene in stride and forcing Thunder forward Jerami Grant to commit the foul. Nene finished with a season-high 18 points over 17 minutes.
“They (the Thunder) did a good job (setting up defensively) on the first play so we called a timeout,” Harden said. “I just got open and I saw two defenders guarding me, made the simple play to Nene and he knocked down two free throws.”
Harden posted 26 points, eight rebounds and 12 assists. All five Rockets starters scored in double figures, including guard Patrick Beverley (11 points, eight rebounds). Eric Gordon scored 22 off the bench.
The Rockets (28-9) regained possession after Westbrook missed a pull-up jumper with 5.7 seconds left, his third consecutive errant shot following a 3-pointer that cut the Houston lead to 114-113 with 2:38 left.
Westbrook scored 49 points, sinking a career-best eight 3-pointers. He added eight rebounds and five assists for the Thunder (21-16), which has lost four of five games and three in succession. Houston took a 2-1 season-series lead against the Thunder, with all three contests decided by one possession. (Reuters)
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