Thunder Starts Fast, Coasts to 17-Point Win over Rockets

Oklahoma City jumped out to a 10-2 run to start the game and never trailed.

Thursday, May 26th 2011, 12:02 pm

By: News On 6

Thunder Starts Fast, Coasts to 17-Point Win over Rockets

Originally Published: Nov 17, 2010 9:46 PM CDT

Corey DeMoss
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma City Thunder jumped out to an early lead and did not look back in a 116-99 victory over the Houston Rockets Wednesday.

The Thunder (7-4) took advantage of a weary Rockets (3-8) team – which was playing a road game for the second consecutive night – by running a fast-paced offense as the game began. The frantic pace led Oklahoma City to a 10-2 run to start the game, and the Thunder never trailed after that.

OKC continued to build its lead as the night went on, and outscored the Rockets in all four quarters. The Thunder led 64-53 at halftime, and Houston went on an 11-4 run to start the second half and cut the lead to four. That was the closest the Rockets came to eliminating the lead.

The Thunder shot well all night, making 50 percent of their shots as well as five 3-pointers and 25 free throws. OKC also won the turnover battle, committing only seven all night while forcing 17.

Kevin Durant led Oklahoma City with 24 points, while Russell Westbrook added 21 points and 12 assists. The Thunder also got production from its bench, with four different players – James Harden, Nick Collison, Eric Maynor and D.J. White – each scoring at least nine points. A total of six Thunder players scored in double digits.

The Rockets played without usual starters Yao Ming and Aaron Brooks, leaving Luis Scola to lead their offensive attack. Scola scored the team’s first six points and finished with a game-high 26 points on 12-of-19 shooting.

The Thunder has scored 100 or more points in all seven of its wins this season, and Wednesday’s victory marked its second in a row. Oklahoma City has yet to win three straight games, but will try to fix that in its next game Friday when it travels to Boston to face the Celtics.