- Commissioner’s statement on Ventura, Marte
- Ronnie O’Sullivan: Masters champion ‘felt so vulnerable’ in final
- Arron Fletcher Wins 2017 WSOP International Circuit Marrakech Main Event ($140,224)
- Smith challenges Warner to go big in India
- Moncada No. 1 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 2B Prospects list
- Braves land 2 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 2B Prospects list
- Kingery makes MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 2B Prospects list
- New Zealand wrap up 2-0 after Bangladesh implosion
- Mathews, Pradeep, Gunathilaka to return to Sri Lanka
- Elliott hopes for rain for Poli
Thunder vs. Rockets: Score, Highlights, Reaction from 2017 Regular Season
- Updated: January 6, 2017
Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook erupted for 49 points and drained a career-high eight threes Thursday night, but the Houston Rockets (28-9) got the last laugh when Nene drilled a pair of free throws with 0.7 seconds remaining to snag a 118-116 win at Toyota Center.
NBA on TNT provided a look at the play that led to the decisive conversions:
Nene sinks both free throws after getting fouled. 0.7 seconds left. @HoustonRockets up 118-116. @okcthunder ball. pic.twitter.com/EnMZlklECS
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) January 6, 2017
In the last-second loss to the streaking Rockets—who have won six straight—the Thunder (21-16) watched Westbrook account for 42 percent of their points, while James Harden and Eric Gordon led Houston’s balanced spread attack to a narrow victory.
Harden totaled 26 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds on a night when he was searching for his fourth straight triple-double, while Gordon racked up 22 points on 8-of-20 shooting (5-of-10 from three-point range) off the bench.
The Duel!@JHarden13 puts up 26 points, 12 assists & 8 rebounds… while @russwest44 puts up 49 points, 8 rebounds & 5 assists! pic.twitter.com/amLEgYgpRt
— NBA (@NBA) January 6, 2017
All five Rockets starters finished in double figures, and Nene came up large with 18 points and a team-best plus-12 rating in 17 minutes.
Westbrook and Harden starred in the first half with 26 and 19 points, respectively, but the Thunder fell behind, failing to keep pace with Houston’s high-powered attack following a 38-point statement in the first quarter.
The Rockets counterpunched with 34 points and improved defense to outscore the visitors by 16 in the second quarter, and their enhanced two-way efforts before halftime were encapsulated by a single sequence that featured a huge block by Trevor Ariza that led to a three-pointer by Ryan Anderson on the other end, as the NBA documented on Twitter:
.@HoustonRockets getting it done on both ends on @NBATV!#NBARapidReplay pic.twitter.com/DeylxKK7mx
— NBA (@NBA) …
