Houston Rockets vs. Oklahoma City Thunder: Postgame Grades and Analysis

The Oklahoma City Thunder are now 2-0 since Russell Westbrook went down with another knee injury.

Behind 33 points from Kevin Durant, the Thunder stomped the Houston Rockets 117-86 on Sunday night, extending their winning streak to six games.

The Rockets, who were on a three-game winning streak of their own heading into Sunday's game, are now 6-4 through their last 10 games.

Oklahoma City got off to a very fast start in this one, jumping out to a 13-0 lead. The team shot a blistering 57 percent from the floor for the game, connecting on 10 of its 22 three-point attempts.

Oppositely, the Rockets shot a paltry 37 percent, going just 7-of-28 from deep. Chandler Parsons was the only starter to reach double figures in scoring.

Houston also went an inexcusable 17-of-31 from the free-throw line.

Maybe playing four games in five nights was the reason for their sluggish performance? If that's the case, don't tell that Houston coach Kevin McHale.

The loss continues an inconsistent stretch for the Rockets, who are now 8-7 in the month of December.

Key Player Grades

Houston Rockets

Dwight Howard, Center

This was an awful night for Dwight Howard, to say the least.

The star big man shot 4-of-13 from the floor and had a lot of trouble dealing with the physicality of Kendrick Perkins down low.

Not only did he shoot poorly from the field, but Howard also missed on six of his seven free throw attempts. Not that that should come as a surprise, but missing all but one free throw is unacceptable, even for Howard. 

Dwight ended up with nine points and nine rebounds in 25 minutes.

Grade: D+

James Harden, Shooting Guard

James Harden's shooting woes continued on Sunday night.

The 2-guard went 2-of-9 against his former team, only attempting five free throws (low for Harden's standards) in 30 minutes.

Maybe Harden was pressing against the Thunder, but let's remember he also struggled to shoot the ball well against them in the playoffs last season.

It's entirely possible that Scott Brooks and the rest of Harden's old teammates simply have his tendencies figured out.

Harden finished with eight points and three assists.

Grade: D

Jeremy Lin, Point Guard

There was no chance for any fourth quarter heroics from Jeremy Lin against Oklahoma City.

Lin put forth a pretty putrid performance, scoring eight points off 2-of-9 shooting and tallying only one assist in 24 minutes.

Lin was also burned by his counterpart Reggie Jackson and finished with a game-worst minus-28.

Yikes.

Grade: D-

Chandler Parsons, Small Forward

Chandler Parsons was the only Houston starter who was even mildly effective on Sunday night.

The small forward tallied 15 points in 33-and-a-half minutes, going 5-of-12 from the field.

Parsons had trouble defending Durant, but who doesn't? Most guys in this league have difficulty stopping the Thunder superstar.

Grade: C-

Terrence Jones, Power Forward

This was a pretty uneventful evening for Terrence Jones. The most memorable part of his performance was getting dunked on (or around; however you want to look at it) by Durant and then Serge Ibaka in a span of three possessions.

The second-year forward shot just 1-of-5 from the floor for two points, but he did grab nine rebounds in 22 minutes, so at least there's that.

Also, Jones had the best plus-minus of any Rockets starter at a whopping minus-18.

I know, I'm reaching.

Grade: D

Aaron Brooks, Sixth Man

Aaron Brooks was Houston's leading scorer in the loss, registering 17 points in 23 minutes as a spark from the bench. He knocked down a half-court three as time expired in the third quarter.

Brooks also had some of nifty drives to the basket in the first half, connecting on a couple of shots that could loosely be associated with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Okay, very loosely, but you get the point.

The Rockets sixth man buried three triples and shot 6-of-14 from the floor. He added six rebounds to his stat line and didn't turn the ball over once.

Grade: A-

Bench

Omri Casspi had an effective outing off the bench, posting 15 points and six rebounds in 30 minutes. He also shot an efficient 6-of-12 from the field. Too bad his contributions went to waste in this blowout loss.

The same goes for Francisco Garcia, who chipped in eight points on 3-of-5 shooting.

On a night when the starters actually show up, those efforts from Casspi and Garcia would go a long way to helping Houston earn a win. Unfortunately, the starters were awful against OKC, so the 23 points between the two reserves was all for naught.

They still deserve credit, though.

Grade: A

Oklahoma City Thunder

Kevin Durant, Small Forward

Just another day at the office for Durant.

The MVP candidate recorded 33 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and three steals, knocking down 11 of his 17 shots and draining three treys. He also shot 8-of-9 from the charity stripe and highlighted his evening with a couple of vicious dunks in the second period.

No big deal.

It seemed like Durant was extra motivated tonight: staring down the Rockets bench and even mouthing off a couple of times throughout the contest. Perhaps he's still remembers Westbrook was injured by Patrick Beverley in the first round of the playoffs last year. Or he likes to remind Harden what he walked away from. 

Whatever it was, Durant looked locked in on Sunday evening, racking up his ninth 30-point game of December.

Give that man a perfect score.

Grade: A+

Serge Ibaka, Power Forward

Serge Ibaka didn't shoot the ball particularly well (4-for-11). He did have a nice block on former teammate Harden before he rifled the rock down the floor for a fast break bucket by Reggie Jackson. It wasn't the first time Ibaka erased a shot by Harden since The Beard was dealt from OKC.

Ibaka totaled eight points, five boards and two rejections in 27 minutes.

Not his best outing, but certainly not a poor one, either.

Grade: C+

Reggie Jackson, Point Guard

Jackson was huge in this one, scoring 11 of his 16 points in the first half to set the tone and help break the game open for the Thunder.

Even more impressive, Jackson shot 7-of-12 from the floor and dished out eight assists in the process.

He got into the lane, knocked down a couple of threes and did a great job in the open floor.

Jackson may not be Westbrook, but he certainly has a similar style of play.

Grade: A-

Kendrick Perkins, Center

Kendrick Perkins is the type of player whose game-by-game performance cannot be judged by his statistics.

Even though Perkins posted only two points in Oklahoma City's victory, he had what was possibly his best performance of the season.

Perk made life for Howard miserable, taking some of the shine off of Houston's star by manhandling him in the post and forcing him to catch the ball outside the paint.

He did this right from the get-go, establishing himself as OKC's enforcer early on.

Perkins had an impressive block on a Dwight dunk attempt, too.

The former Boston Celtic collected nine rebounds to complete his best outing of the season.

Grade: A

Thabo Sefolosha, Shooting Guard

Thabo Sefolosha played a significant role in OKC's hot start to the game, scoring nine points in the first quarter and all 13 of his points in the first half.

Sefolosha also played stellar defense on Harden, not biting on his fakes or fouling him when he drove to the basket.

Thabo went 5-for-10 in 29 productive minutes.

Grade: B+

Jeremy Lamb, Sixth Man

This was the best night of Jeremy Lamb's young NBA career.

The UConn product scored a career-high 22 points off an incredibly efficient 8-of-10 shooting clip, draining three triples.

But Lamb didn't stop there.

The sophomore wing also grabbed five rebounds, five dimes and two steals in 26 minutes.

He picked a perfect night to have such a good game as he was one of the pieces that came back in the Harden trade. 

Grade: A+

Bench

Perry Jones, Nick Collison, Derek Fisher, Steven Adams and Ryan Gomes collaborated for 23 points off the pine, with Jones leading the way with eight.

Collison also did the dirty work as usual, grabbing five rebounds and handing out three assists in 13 minutes. One of those dimes was a beautiful backdoor pass.

If OKC wants to compete for a championship without Westbrook, the bench is going to have to step up in a big way.

It did just that tonight.

Keep an eye on Jones in particular. The kid was looked at as an elite draft prospect for a reason.

Grade: A

What's Next for the Rockets?

The Rockets play the Sacramento Kings at home on New Year's Eve, a game that is a lot more difficult than it looks on paper.

They then have six relatively easy contests (including a four-game road trip at Atlanta, Washington, Boston and New Orleans) before meeting the Thunder again, this time at the Toyota Center.

You can be sure that Houston will have that date circled on the calendar.

What's Next for the Thunder?

The Thunder have a showdown at home against the Portland Trail Blazers on New Year's Eve. Expect a great one there, Westbrook or no Westbrook.

Following the match against Portland, Oklahoma City plays five of its following eight contests on the road, against teams with talent like Minnesota, Denver and Memphis before traveling to Houston.

Gear up, Thunder fans.