Thunder at Rockets
The Oklahoma City Thunder likely took any slight drama out of the race for the No. 3 spot in the Western Conference with a win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday and have won nine of their last 10 games. The Houston Rockets, who host the Thunder on Sunday afternoon, are not nearly as secure in their postseason position.
The Rockets are fighting with the Dallas Mavericks and the Utah Jazz over the final two spots in the West and did not help themselves with a 103-100 home loss to the Chicago Bulls on Thursday. Houston was outscored 32-20 in the fourth quarter against the Bulls and has dropped five of its last seven games to fall below .500, including a 111-107 setback at Oklahoma City on March 22. “We’ve done things that have worked and at times we get away from those things,” Rockets interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff told reporters. “That’s what this league is about, this league is about consistency in the approach, consistency in performance, the consistency in the belief of your system and consistency in willingness to work at it.” The Thunder leaned on Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant to pull out a 119-117 win over the Clippers, which pushed their lead over Los Angeles to 5 1/2 games with six to play.
TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC
ABOUT THE THUNDER (53-23): Westbrook made the key defensive play that led to the go-ahead basket on Thursday and grabbed a rebound to clinch it at the end, capping off a 26-point, 11-assist, eight-rebound, four-steal performance. “I’m the type of guy who tries to make something happen,” Westbrook told reporters. “Sometimes I gamble and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. I’m a guy who is going to put my body on the line for my team and try to find a way to help us win.” Westbrook averaged 21.7 points, 10.6 assists and 8.2 rebounds and recorded seven triple-doubles in March.
ABOUT THE ROCKETS (37-39): Houston has played each of its last seven games against teams fighting for playoff spots, and the five losses came by an average of 4.8 points. The Rockets shot 6-of-21 from the field in the fourth quarter on Thursday as a nine-point lead evaporated. “It hurts them,” Bickerstaff told reporters of his players. “The opportunities are there in front of us - we have to take advantage of the opportunities. This was a team that we had on the ropes. (The Bulls) put in their second-unit guys, and their second-unit guys gave them a huge spark.”
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Rockets G Jason Terry, who is considering retirement after the season, interviewed for UAB’s head coaching job.
2. Thunder F Serge Ibaka is 24-of-42 from the field over his last four games.
3. Houston F Michael Beasley collected 20 points and 11 rebounds on Thursday for his first double-double since joining the team on March 4.