Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – The Houston Rockets, fueled by Alperen Sengun’s triple-double and some timely baskets from superstar Kevin Durant, rallied to beat the short-handed NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder 112-106 on Saturday. Houston trailed by as many as 15 in the second quarter against a Thunder team missing reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. But they chipped away to take the lead in the third period and held on down the stretch to snap a two-game losing streak.
“We started making shots,” said Durant, a two-time NBA champion who launched his career with the Thunder franchise and heard boos from fans still miffed by his departure more than nine years ago. “I think we got good looks that first half, we just weren’t knocking them down. Second half, we knocked them down.”
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“We knew they would slow down a bit,” Durant added. “They were playing with a lot of energy at home the first half. They were missing three guys, other guys get an opportunity (and) they took advantage in the first half. The second half, I think we came out with the same energy.”
Durant, bottled up in a first half that saw him attempt just three shots, finished with 20 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Turkish center Sengun scored 17 points with 12 rebounds and 11 assists and added three steals and three blocked shots. Jabari Smith Jr. had a double-double of 22 points and 10 rebounds. Tari Eason led Houston’s scoring with 26 points as all five Rockets starters finished with at least 16.
Cason Wallace led the Thunder with 23 points and Isaiah Joe added 21 off the bench for the reigning champions, who still boast the league’s best record at 40-13. Forward Chet Holmgren, back from a one-game injury absence, added 17 points and 14 rebounds, but the Thunder — missing Gilgeous-Alexander until after the All-Star break with an abdominal injury — couldn’t maintain their early momentum.
In other early games, the Brooklyn Nets scored 80 points in the first half on the way to a 127-113 victory over the Washington Wizards, who had just eight players available amid injuries and the wait for newly traded players. Michael Porter Jr. scored 23 points, 20 of them in the first half, as the Nets halted a three-game skid.
Saturday’s other games include an all-Texas tussle between the Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs, and a California clash between the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers that lost some luster with the injury absences of Warriors star Stephen Curry and the Lakers’ Luka Doncic. The Charlotte Hornets seek to push their winning streak to nine games when they visit the Atlanta Hawks.
© 2024 AFP
