Richard Rowe-US PRESSWIRE

Just like last time, the Thunder suffer a one point loss to the Houston Rockets, 104-103.

The game was close throughout, until the Thunder took an 11 point lead with 2:29 to go in the game.

Their only basket from there on out was a Russell Westbrook free throw. The Thunder were outscored 13-1 to end the game.

Kevin Durant had the opportunity to win the game, but missed a jumper.

Serge Ibaka got the rebound and was blocked on the Thunder’s final attempt to score.

Similarly to the game against the Cavs, they struggled to close out Rockets late in the game. Durant led the team in scoring with 28, followed by Westbrook’s 19.

Kevin Durant- A-     28pts/12reb/4ast/1stl

Durant had a pretty average game for him this season, scoring 28 points on 18 shots. He took advantage of the smaller Rockets lineup to grab 12 boards. The four turnovers did not help, but overall a solid game from Durant.

Russell Westbrook- C     19pts/4reb/4ast/1stl

Not a very good shooting night for Westbrook, shooting only 39% from the floor, missing all of his 3-point attempts. He also only had four of the team’s 22 assists. When Kendrick Perkins has more assists than Russell Westbrook, it is either a really good game, or a really bad game, the latter being the case last night.

Serge Ibaka- B-     12pts/8reb/1ast/2blk

When Chandler Parsons went to the four, at times, Ibaka was forced to go out to the perimeter to guard him. That spread out the defense, allowing the Rockets to have more options on offense. Ibaka is the key to the Thunder defense, holding down the paint, to give the guards a little more leeway. Again, Ibaka’s jumper has been great, as of late, he hit two more 15-footers this game.

Kendrick Perkins-B     2pts/4reb/5ast/1stl

Perkins played 30 more minutes of solid defense for the Thunder. His offense was nowhere to be found, but it’s never really been there, so I’ve given up on that. With the trade deadline looming, it doesn’t seem likely that anyone gets moved, but you never know what could happen.

James Harden- C+     16pts/4reb/7ast/1stl

It seems like Harden never shoots that well against the Rockets. They have good guards, defensively, and it looks like they have figured out how to guard him when he is the only threat on the court. He will always find ways to score, but he needs a little help off the bench to be more efficient.

Rest of the Thunder- B+

As a group, everyone else really stepped up their game last night. They combined for 24 points, which isn’t all that great, but a lot better than usual. Nazr Mohammed led the group with 10 points and 6 rebounds. Nick Collison put in some quality minutes, as well.

Richard Rowe-US PRESSWIRE

Courtney Lee made a three-pointer with 15.1 seconds left to put the Houston Rockets ahead of the Oklahoma City Thunder 104-103, stunning everyone in the building.

Kevin Durant then missed a very tough 20-footer with two seconds left and Chandler Parsons all over him. Serge Ibaka rebounded the miss with enough time for a putback and what looked like a chance to win it, was not as the Rockets defense recovered to contest Ibaka enough forcing the miss.

The Oklahoma City Thunder led 102-91 with 2:29 left in the game. They waste an amazing effort from James Harden in the fourth quarter.

Harden ran the show for the first nine minutes of the fourth quarter and did so flawlessly. He scored nine points and orchestrated a perfect offensive attack via the pick-and-roll with Kendrick Perkins.

Even when Durant and Russell Westbrook returned to the game Harden continued to run the point and pick apart the Rockets defense. The Thunder would score on six straight possessions before finally Harden had a hiccup and turned the ball over with 3:44 left in the game.

Harden appeared winded at this point and the Thunder went back to Durant and Westbrook on offense. It did not work.

The top scoring duo in the league only scored four points in the fourth quarter, partly because of Harden running the show and partly because they just didn’t have it in the final minutes.

Richard Rowe-US PRESSWIRE

Westbrook was side-tracked by a pesky Goran Dragic and even picked up a technical with 48 seconds left in the game. In the final 1:05 Westbrook also committed two costly turnovers.

When it came down to taking the last shot down by one with 15 seconds left, it never felt good for the Thunder faithful. Durant was forced out to beyond 30-feet to receive the handoff from Westbrook. He lost his dribble trying to drive on Parsons and then hoisted up a prayer when he still had a few ticks left to spare.

The Rockets comeback happened so fast and truly stunned everyone, including the Thunder players.

The Thunder probably should have gone back to Harden a time or two in the last three minutes but he did appear exhausted having carried the load for much of the fourth and playing the last 18 minutes of the game.

That can be the problem with Harden coming off the bench is that he is basically asked to play 18 straight minutes without a break and might not be as fresh as he could be in the final minutes.

Either way Durant and Westbrook had their chances and the Thunder should not have let this one slip away.

Durant led the Thunder with 28 points but had just one in the fourth. Westbrook had 19 and Harden 16 points and seven assists.

Parsons and Lee each led Houston with 21 points.

The Thunder (32-10) are off tomorrow then will hit the road for the first time in six games Thursday night to take on Denver (23-19).

The Oklahoma City Thunder are tied 53-53 with the Houston Rockets at halftime tonight. The Thunder could not have started the game any better with the dunk by Russell Westbrook just after winning the opening tip.

It would be another slow start overall for the Thunder though.

Chandler Parsons has done a great job of checking Kevin Durant and is matching him on the offensive end. Parsons has 19 points and is 3-of-3 from deep and Durant leads the Thunder with 18 points and three three-pointers as well. Parsons also threw this dunk on Serge Ibaka in the first quarter.

Westbrook has 16 points and two assists with no turnovers. James Harden has just seven points and has had some trouble holding on to the ball with three turnovers.

The Rockets have just four turnovers in the game and have hit six threes. Oklahoma City still hasn’t gotten out on the break much in this one. If they can get a few more stops in the second half they should be able to pull away in this one.

Thomas Campbell-US Presswire

Thunder (1-game winning streak)
106.6 Offensive Efficiency (2nd)
99.4 Defensive Efficiency (12th)
96.0 Pace (5th)
56.9 True Shooting % (1st)
51.3 Rebound Rate (6th)

Rockets (1-game losing streak)
102.6 Offensive Efficiency (10th)
101.7 Defensive Efficiency (17th)
94.5 Pace (11th)
53.2 True Shooting % (7th)
50.4 Rebound Rate (13th)

The Thunder are coming off one of the easier wins of the season beating the Bobcats 122-95 two nights ago. James Harden scored a career-high 33 points in the win.

Harden, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook combined to outscore the entire Bobcats team 55-40 in the first half of Saturday night’s win. That has been the trend of late from the Thunder, their Big Three carrying the scoring load.

The Thunder have played the Rockets three times already this year beating them the first two then losing 96-95 the last time. In that loss Durant had three chances to put the Thunder ahead in the final minute and failed to do so.

The Rockets are an overachieving team by old statistical measures and played the Thunder very tough. Rookie Chandler Parsons did a very nice job on Durant last game.

Kevin Martin had a big game scoring 32 as he torched Daequan Cook early and had the hot hand for most of the night.

The Thunder turned the ball over 21 times in Houston that night and got almost no production from anyone outside of the Big Three.

At home tonight expect better role player production and we’ll see if Harden continues his stellar play. Harden scored 17 points and had five turnovers in the last meeting.

With two days of rest the Thunder should be fresh while the Rockets have been in somewhat of a slump of late dropping six of their last seven. They’re battling injuries and will be without starting point guard Kyle Lowry for tonight’s game.

This is not a game the Thunder should lose. Expect to see them come out on point and play well. The emphasis early should be containing Martin and getting out on the fast break for some easy buckets.

The Thunder are favored by 11.0 as they close out their five-game home stand tonight.