Rockets Break NBA Record with 73 Points in 1st Half, 19 in 2nd vs. Thunder

At least the Houston Rockets made history on Thursday, Jan. 16. That has to count for something.

By scoring 73 points in the first half against the Oklahoma City Thunder and then 19 in the second, they set the NBA record for biggest point differential between halves, per ESPN Stats and Info:

Things were looking great for Houston going into halftime. It had built a 73-59 lead, which evaporated as the Rockets scored 10 and nine points in the third and fourth quarters, respectively. The Rockets would go on to lose, 104-92.

Justin Phan had the shot charts for the first and second halves:

Head coach Kevin McHale had a succinct way to summarize the Rockets' performance, per Grantland's netw3rk:

However, nothing could top how the team itself characterized the game:

It was a performance that's a mirror image of the Houston Rockets this season. Despite their 26-15 record, they have been inconsistent at times, looking like title contenders one night and average the next. It just so happened that Houston condensed all of that into Thursday night's game.

The Daily Thunder's Royce Young, however, found an interesting stat that leads you to believe something may have been off about the basket itself. You don't see this kind of disparity too often:

Houston's next opponent, the Milwaukee Bucks—who own the league's worst record—present the perfect tonic for the Rockets. McHale can hope his players forget about this game and bounce back on Saturday night with a strong 48-minute effort.