Russell Westbrook, Thunder Earn Crucial Win over James Harden, Rockets
The Oklahoma City Thunder kept pace in the race for a Western Conference playoff spot Saturday night with a 108-102 road win over the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center.
Now 46-34, the Thunder are a full game up on the Minnesota Timberwolves (45-35) and Denver Nuggets (45-35) with two games remaining.
The triumphant effort, while not always pretty, was fueled by Russell Westbrook's tone-setting defensive display throughout the fourth quarter.
Facing a must-win situation following the Denver Nuggets' 134-115 win over the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center earlier Saturday, last year's MVP cranked up his intensity against James Harden.
Westbrook also scored seven of his 24 points in the final frame to go with 10 assists, seven rebounds and four steals as he flirted with his 25th triple-double of the season.
Paul George matched Westbrook with a team-high 24 points, while Carmelo Anthony added 22 points and six boards.
Anthony was especially hot early. He scored 14 first-quarter points as Oklahoma City jumped out to a six-point lead through 12 minutes, and he did so through a series of spot-up jumpers and aggressive takes to the rim:
The 10-time All-Star didn't make as much noise down the stretch, but he came up with a huge block on a Harden layup with 4:17 remaining that led to a Westbrook layup on the other end to put the Thunder up 10.
Not to be forgotten was center Steven Adams, who earned a big piece of praise from Detroit Pistons power forward Blake Griffin as things unfolded:
In 29 minutes, Adams racked up 12 points, eight boards and three assists as he anchored OKC's pick-and-roll attack and helped to stymie Houston's as the Rockets managed just 34 points in the paint.
That said, the Rockets pushed the Thunder for all they were worth in a game they didn't have any stake in considering they've already locked up the Western Conference's No. 1 seed.
Harden led a group of five double-figure scorers with 26 points and nine assists, while Chris Paul matched that dime total and chipped in 17 points. However, that dynamic duo accounted for eight turnovers—Houston had 17 as a team—and that carelessness paved the way for OKC to score 22 points off giveaways.
Now, the Thunder will turn their attention to showdowns with the Miami Heat on Monday and Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday as they attempt to lock up one of the West's final playoff spots.
The Rockets will be off for the next two days before traveling to California for meetings with the lottery-bound Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday and Sacramento Kings on Wednesday.
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