Rockets use balanced attack to silence Thunder
HOUSTON -- Lou Williams paced a quartet of 20-point scorers as the Houston Rockets beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 137-125 on Sunday at Toyota Center.
Williams finished with 31 points on 11-of-15 shooting, hitting 7 of 8 3-pointers to help carry the Rockets (51-22) to their third win in four meetings with the Thunder (41-31) this season. Aid came in the form of guards James Harden (22 points, 12 assists) and Eric Gordon (24 points on 4-of-9 3-point shooting), and forward Trevor Ariza, who made 9 of 11 shots while also chipping in 24 points.
Houston shot a robust 63.3 percent from the floor, connecting on 20 of 39 3-pointers to overwhelm Oklahoma City until Russell Westbrook and Enes Kanter paced a fruitless fourth-quarter rally. Kanter scored 13 of his 23 points in the final period while Westbrook added 18 points in the period while producing his league-leading 36th triple-double. He finished with 39 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists.
While the Thunder recorded 62 points in the paint and 20 off 20 Houston turnovers, the Rockets led wire-to-wire. Williams, Nene and Sam Dekker combined for 56 points off the Rockets bench. Houston led by as many as 25, extending to a 113-88 lead on a Harden buzzer-beating 3 to close the third period.
Leading 37-31 entering the second, the Rockets expanded that lead with an extraordinary shooting display. Houston hit 16 of 21 field goals in the period, including 6 of 9 from behind the arc while producing a 42-point quarter.
Williams poured in 13 points on 4-of-4 shooting in the second and closed the half with 18 points on just six field goals. Ariza also started 6 for 6, his half-court heave at the first half buzzer qualifying as his first miss. Ariza closed the half with 16 points, and with Harden chipping in 12, the Rockets led 79-59 at the break.
NOTES: Rockets F Ryan Anderson will be sidelined up to two weeks with a sprained right ankle suffered in the waning moments on Friday night against the Pelicans. A subsequent MRI revealed no structural damage. Houston coach Mike D'Antoni hopes Anderson will return prior to the end of the regular season. ... Houston set season marks for field goal percentage (71.4) and points (79) in the first half. ... With his 36th triple-double, Thunder G Russell Westbrook moved to within six of breaking the single-season record set by Bucks G Oscar Robertson in 1961-62.