Russell Westbrook, Thunder Beat James Harden, Rockets as OKC's Big 3 Shine

The Oklahoma City Thunder got a surging Big Three for Christmas.

Russell Westbrook had a 31-point, 11-assist double-double, and Paul George and Carmelo Anthony both had stellar games, as the Thunder held on for a 112-107 win over the Houston Rockets on Monday.

Westbrook scored 11 of the Thunder's 24 points in the fourth quarter, leading them with unrelenting effort getting to the basket. He attempted just three free throws through the first three quarters but got to the charity stripe five times in the last 12 minutes.

George (24 points) and Anthony (20 points) were efficient throughout the contest and were responsible for six of Oklahoma City's eight threes. Add in Steven Adams' 15-point, 10-rebound performance, and the Thunder stars were responsible for 90 of the team's 112 points.

Oklahoma City shot 54.4 percent as a team and found itself able to get good shots near the rim against a lackadaisical defensive effort by the Rockets. They have now won five straight games and could get within a game of fourth place in the Western Conference, depending on the result of the Minnesota Timberwolves' trip to LakerLand later Monday.

James Harden led the way for Houston with 29 points, 14 assists and eight rebounds. Coming off consecutive 51-point games, Harden shot 7-of-18 from the floor and missed eight of his 11 threes. Eric Gordon and Trevor Ariza scored 20 points apiece, and Clint Capela had a 19-point, 10-rebound double-double.

Chris Paul's absence was felt largely through the lack of bench scoring. With Gordon back in the starting lineup, the Rockets got just eight points out of Nene and PJ Tucker. Houston has lost its last two games without Paul and three straight overall, the first of the streak being the game the All-Star guard went down with a leg injury.

The Rockets' three-game losing streak is their first of the season. They had won 20 of their previous 21 games.

Paul is expected back next week, which could not come soon enough. Houston now sits a game back of the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference standings. Next up for the Rockets is a two-day rest before traveling to Boston for a Thursday night game with the Celtics.

The Thunder host the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday.