Thunder vs. Rockets: Score, Highlights, Reaction from 2017 Regular Season

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:

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.

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:

While Harden went toe-to-toe with Westbrook, Gordon's sweet shooting from the outside was a major reason the Rockets mounted a double-digit lead at halftime.

The NBA's three-point leader made his presence felt with 16 points in his first 15 minutes off the bench, and SB Nation's Mike Prada didn't hesitate to list Gordon as the top contender for Sixth Man of the Year honors in the midst of the first-half scoring explosion:

Elsewhere, the Washington Post's Tim Bontemps noted it's been a nice change of pace to see Gordon's positive traits accentuated in a scheme that suits his skill set:

Oklahoma City's supporting actors didn't offer Westbrook much help through three quarters, but a strong start to the final frame laid the groundwork for the Thunder to erase a 14-point deficit and take a brief two-point lead with 1:54 remaining.

At that point, the Thunder looked like they would cap off a come-from-behind win.

However, Westbrook's trey with five seconds remaining rimmed out, and the Rockets capitalized on the other end when Harden spotted Nene with a gorgeous feed that facilitated the big man's game-winning trip to the free-throw line.

The Rockets now own a 2-1 season-series lead over the Thunder, with the fourth meeting between the two powerhouses scheduled for March 26 in Houston.

As for the immediate future, the Rockets will hit the road for a quick two-game swing that will feature showdowns against the Orlando Magic on Friday and Toronto Raptors on Sunday.

The Thunder, meanwhile, have lost three in a row but will try to get back on the winning track when the Denver Nuggets pay a visit to Chesapeake Energy Arena on Saturday night.

Postgame Reaction

After the win, the Houston Chronicle's Jonathan Feigen broke down the sequence of events that allowed the Rockets to get Nene to the free-throw line: 

"That was just a great basketball play," Rockets head coach Mike D'Antoni said of Harden's pass, according to the Houston Chronicle's Brian T. Smith. 

As far as unsung heroes were concerned, Patrick Beverley came up large with 11 points, eight rebounds and two steals.

General manager Daryl Morey took notice: 

USA Today's Sam Amick caught up with Beverley and reported that Houston's floor general was hurting following an evening with Westbrook: 

Speaking of Westbrook, ClutchFans on Twitter noted the game's leading scorer didn't offer enlightening answers during his postgame meeting with reporters: 

"Russell was unbelievable tonight," D'Antoni said, per Amick. "He made some unbelievable shots. And James was James…almost a triple-double again. Both of them are in the running for the MVP, and rightly so. They're great players."