Thunder at Rockets
The Oklahoma City Thunder attempt to remain unbeaten and the host
Houston Rockets try to halt a winless start when the two squads square
off Monday. Oklahoma City is 3-0 for the first time since the 2011-12
campaign, while Houston's 0-3 start is its worst since losing five
straight to open the 2010-11 season.
Standout guard James Harden is the main culprit for the Rockets' poor start — he is 12-of-54 from the field — but has plenty of company when it comes to Houston's shortcomings. "We have not played well all preseason. We have not played well in the first three games," Rockets coach Kevin McHale said after Sunday's 109-89 loss to the Miami Heat. "No one feels sorry for us. We just have got to go out and find our rhythm and keep on playing." Oklahoma City is undefeated under new coach Billy Donovan and gave a dominating performance while posting a 117-93 win over the Denver Nuggets on Sunday. "We made it easy for everybody," Thunder star Kevin Durant said afterward. "Making the extra pass, getting steals, kicking the ball ahead. When we play like that, when everybody plays together like that, it makes it easy."
TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBATV, FSN Oklahoma (Oklahoma City), ROOT (Houston)
ABOUT THE THUNDER (3-0): Durant only had to play 28 minutes while scoring 25 points against Denver — a good development after he played 54 minutes (scoring 43 points) in Friday's double-overtime victory against Orlando. But even though he's returning from a foot injury that limited him to 27 games last season, Durant gets touchy when the subject turns to reducing his minutes. "I'm really tired of y'all talking to me like I'm a 19-year vet,” Durant said prior to Sunday's victory. “I was out a year. Not even a whole year. I'm all right. I can play those minutes. It's not like I'm struggling the next day. I want to play every minute. But I can't do that. I feel great enough to play as much as coach wants me to play. I'm not 39 years old."
ABOUT THE ROCKETS (0-3): Harden is averaging 18 points and has yet to even shoot 30 percent in a game this season. He was a porous 2-of-15 in the loss to Miami as Houston was outscored 65-26 in the second half and watched a 21-point, third-quarter lead turn into its third consecutive 20-point defeat. "You can't have a stagnant offense and not get stops," Harden said afterward. "That's a sign of disaster, which happened in the second half."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Rockets have won the past four meetings after losing five of the previous six.
2. Oklahoma City C Enes Kanter had 12 points and 10 rebounds off the bench against Denver for his second double-double in three games.
3. Houston PF Terrence Jones (eyelid laceration) missed the game against Miami and is questionable to play against the Thunder, while C Dwight Howard (back) will be in the lineup after sitting out the first game of the back-to-back.