Thunder 109, Rockets 94
Kevin Durant scored 26 points on 10-of-16 shooting and added seven rebounds as the Oklahoma City Thunder bounced back from a pair of losses with a 109-94 victory over the visiting Houston Rockets.
James Harden had 23 points off the bench and Russell Westbrook chipped in 15 for the Thunder, who appeared fatigued in their last two at the end of a stretch of seven games in 10 days.
Two full days off appeared to do Oklahoma City some good, as it burst out to a 30-20 lead after the first quarter and rolled into the half with a 58-41 cushion. The Thunder shot 58 percent (22 of 38) from the field before the break.
Durant, who struggled to 18-of-47 (38 percent) shooting in the two losses, had no such trouble against Houston. After settling for 3-pointers in those games, the star forward went to the basket more Friday and did not take a shot outside of 16 feet in the first half.
Any hopes of a comeback for the Rockets were dashed when Oklahoma City began the third quarter with a 12-4 spurt, pushing the lead to 70-45.
Durant and the rest of the starters took most of the fourth quarter off as the Thunder coasted to the finish.
Kevin Martin and Terrence Williams each scored 13 for Houston, which hosts Oklahoma City on Saturday.