OKC Drops Buzzer Beater at Houston

Kevin Durant's last-second jumper falls short as Thunder lose their second road game.

Thursday, May 26th 2011, 12:04 pm

By: News On 6

Originally Published: Nov 28, 2010 8:50 PM CDT

Grant Belcher
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

HOUSTON – Up until Sunday’s game, Oklahoma City was undefeated in games decided by two possessions or less.

With one bounce off the rim from Kevin Durant, that perfect record was tarnished in a 99-98 loss to the Houston Rockets on Sunday.

Trailing by a point with three seconds to play, OKC inbounded the ball to Durant, who made a move and took a 20-foot jumper as time expired.

His shot bounced off the front of the rim, hit the backboard and rimmed out again before falling to the ground as the buzzer sounded.

Coming into the game, Oklahoma City was 7-0 in close games – those decided by six points or less.

The Thunder trailed by nine with four minutes remaining before mounting an impressive comeback to force a close game.

Russell Westbrook had six points in the final six minutes to complement 3-pointers from Kevin Durant and Jeff Green.

But the final shot for Durant did not fall, as the Thunder dropped to 11-6 on the season.

Westbrook continued his impressive play for Oklahoma City, picking up another double-double with 23 points and 10 assists.

Durant added 18 points for OKC. Forward Serge Ibaka racked up 16 points and eight boards while Jeff Green added 15 points.

As the NBA’s leading free-throw shooting team, Oklahoma City was shooting close to 88 percent heading into the contest with the Rockets.

During the game in Houston, OKC shot just 65 percent (15-of-23).

The Rockets were on fire from beyond the arc, shooting 58 percent and also outrebounding the Thunder 44-36 despite center Yao Ming not playing with a nagging ankle injury.

The Thunder, who dropped just their second game on the road this season, will return to action Monday evening against New Orleans at 7 p.m. at the Oklahoma City Arena.