Thunder Squanders Lead in Loss to Rockets

The Thunder could not hold on to a double-digit lead and failed to earn its first three-game winning streak of the season.

Thursday, May 26th 2011, 11:22 am

By: News On 6

Thunder Squanders Lead in Loss to Rockets

Originally Published: Nov 29, 2009 9:7 PM CDT

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Gerald Goodridge
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Oklahoma City had two players with 20 or more points, Kevin Durant with 25 and Russell Westbrook with 20, but that wasn’t enough to overcome a 20-turnover night from the Thunder, who fell to the Houston Rockets 100-91.

The Rockets lost forward Luis Scola 22 seconds into the game after he was poked in the right eye by Etan Thomas, after already being down two All-Stars, TracyMcGrady and Yao Ming.

Carl Landry accounted for 21 points and 10 rebounds after replacing Scola, combined with 18 second-half points from Aaron Brooks, allowed Houston to recover from an early 10-point deficit.

However, the biggest issue for the Thunder may have been their offensive efficiency.

Oklahoma City shot a miserable 1-15 from the three-point area, and had a one-to-one assist to turnover ratio.

The Thunder can finish the 2009 calendar year off strong, facing seven opponents with losing record in the month of December, and position itself to make a playoff push in 2010.