Thunder-Rockets Preview

By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO
Posted Feb 15 2012 1:40AM

The Oklahoma City Thunder own the best record in the NBA, and the venue hasn't made much of a difference.

The Houston Rockets have first-hand experience of that.

Fresh off a pair of dominant performances, the Thunder look to continue their success against the Rockets on Wednesday night in Houston.

Oklahoma City (22-6) leads the league thanks in part to a seven-game home winning streak, but the Thunder have also found success away from home, leading the NBA with a 12-5 road record. They've won three of their last four on the road including a 101-87 victory at Utah on Friday.

The Thunder followed that up Tuesday by pounding the Jazz again, winning 111-85 at home while shooting 54.5 percent from the field.

"We wanted to play a little harder," All-Star forward Kevin Durant told the Thunder's official website. "Coach (Scott Brooks) said that we gave them too many easy plays last game, so we just tried to take that away by having a little bit more toughness and effort. I think that was what we did. We kind of focused on that, and guys are playing hard and playing together. That's the ingredients for us to get a win."

Durant has been a vital ingredient during the Thunder's four-game winning streak over Houston (16-13), averaging 28.8 points while making 55.3 percent of his field-goal attempts.

Oklahoma City swept a home-and-home set from the Rockets on Jan. 6 and 7, winning the opener 109-94 at home and prevailing 98-95 at Houston behind 27 points from Durant and 25 from Russell Westbrook.

Serge Ibaka totaled 13 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks in last month's two meetings with Houston, and he's been much better of late, 32 points (shooting 14 of 18), 21 boards and eight blocked shots over the last two contests.

"He's getting better every game," Brooks said of Ibaka. "His growth, his development is encouraging. Every day he works, and you can see the work that he puts in on the floor paying off for him."

The Rockets are trying to avoid dropping three straight for the first time since a season-high four-game skid Jan. 3-7. Improved play from Kevin Martin would help.

Houston's leading scorer with 17.7 points per game on the season, Martin has averaged only 7.3 over the last six games. He failed to get a point for the first time in six years Tuesday, missing all three of his shots in a 93-83 loss at Memphis as the Rockets wrapped up a 3-3 road trip.

A return home could spark Martin and the Rockets. He's averaging 22.8 points at the Toyota Center, where the team is 10-3 and scoring 100.2 points per game.

However, Martin wasn't anything special in the home loss to the Thunder last month, finishing with 16 points and shooting 4 of 11.

Power forward Luis Scola was a bright spot for Houston in the Jan. 7 loss, scoring a season-high 28 points and adding seven rebounds. He wasn't as productive in Tuesday's defeat with nine points and five boards.

Martin's 32 points lead Rockets over Thunder 96-95

By KRISTIE RIEKEN
Posted Feb 15 2012 11:30PM

HOUSTON (AP) Kevin McHale had a talk with Kevin Martin late Tuesday night after he went scoreless for the first time in six years and was relegated to the bench for most of the second half of a loss to Memphis.

It looks as though the Houston Rockets' first-year coach got through to his star.

Martin tied a season high with 32 points, including the winning free throws with 23.6 seconds remaining, to lead the Rockets to a 96-95 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night.

Before the game McHale recounted the discussion they had Tuesday night.

"We've got to do a better job of trying to get you going, but you've got to do a good job of getting yourself going, too," McHale said he told Martin. "I did it for a lot of years and it's incumbent on you to go out there and get yourself going."

Martin took his advice to heart.

"When it comes to NBA basketball, we're both pretty smart, (but) he might be a little smarter than me," Martin said. "So I was listening a little bit more and it was just a great conversation especially after the last week has gone. It was a conversation we needed to have."

Kevin Durant missed three shots in the last 16 seconds and Houston finally grabbed the rebound on the last miss to secure the win. Goran Dragic missed a pair of free throws for Houston after that, but the Thunder didn't have time to get down the court for another shot.

"I got where I wanted to get, I just missed the shots," Durant said. "That's what happens. Guys can't expect you to make every shot at the end or you're setting yourself up for failure."

Martin didn't score in the fourth quarter until his free throws for the win.

"It's not even about points," he said. "Yesterday, we got beat and I was over there sitting and that wasn't pleasant. So tonight it was good to be out there and it was a total team effort."

Thunder coach Scott Brooks was disappointed with his team's 21 turnovers and its work on defending Martin.

"We did not have a handle on him all game," Brooks said. "He was aggressive, attacking our defenders and we didn't do a good job on Kevin."

Durant led the Western Conference-leading Thunder with 33 points and Russell Westbrook added 26 points.

Houston got 15 points from Luis Scola and 14 from Chandler Parsons.

Kyle Lowry, who finished with 11 points, cut the lead to 95-94 with a putback layup with about a minute left. Durant missed a jump shot on the other end to give Houston the ball back and set up Martin's free throws.

Houston led by five points before Oklahoma City scored seven straight - capped by a monster dunk by Durant to take an 89-87 lead with six minutes left. He had another dunk soon after that before his alley-oop layup had Oklahoma City up 93-92 about two minutes later.

Durant has scored 25 points or more 13 times against the Rockets in his career.

James Harden, who had 17 points, scored Oklahoma City's first seven points of the fourth quarter and the teams were tied at 80 after his layup with about nine minutes remaining.

The teams exchanged the lead several times in the third quarter before Houston made it 73-70 with a 3-point play by Martin, who had 15 points in the quarter. He banked on off-balance shot while being fouled by Durant and hit the free throw.

Courtney Lee sank two free throws after that, but Durant found a wide-open Reggie Jackson for a 3-pointer at the end of the quarter to cut Houston's lead to 75-73 entering the fourth quarter.

Players from both teams got technical fouls in the third quarter. Kendrick Perkins got one when he linked his arm in Scola's to try and slow his path to the basket with about five minutes left in the quarter. Lowry got one about 1 1/2 minutes later when he got tangled up with Serge Ibaka while trying to get a rebound.

Martin cooled down in the second quarter after his hot shooting first quarter and the Thunder finally got their offense going.

The Rockets were up by 18 points early in the second quarter before Oklahoma City went on an 8-0 run to close the gap to 31-21 less than 10 minutes before halftime.

Oklahoma City went on a 10-2 run capped by a 3-pointer by Durant after that to get within 35-31 about five minutes later.

The Thunder tied it at 42 when Samuel Dalembert was called for goaltending on a shot by Durant with a minute left in the first half.

Martin then scored his only points of the second quarter with a 3-pointer seconds later to put Houston back on top 45-42.

Martin got going early in this one, with his first basket coming on a jump shot with 9 minutes left in the first quarter that made it 6-0. A pair of 3-pointers later in the quarter gave him 10 points, pushed Houston's lead to 18-6 and had a rowdy group of fans chanting his name.

Parsons hit a 3-pointer with about 3 seconds left in the first quarter to leave the Rockets up 29-13 entering the second period.

Martin scored 28 points against Golden State on Sunday, but has struggled in his three other recent games. His 12 first-quarter points were double what he'd scored in those three outings.

Notes: Thunder G Thabo Sefolosha missed his 10th straight game with a sore right foot. Daequan Cook started in his place for the eighth straight time. ... Houston went 3-3 on the six-game road trip that ended Monday. ... Oklahoma City is 2-1 against Houston this season.

Notebook: Rockets 96, Thunder 95

Posted Thursday February 16, 2012 12:09AM

By Matt Miller, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: The Houston Rockets' leading scorer did not score in the fourth quarter of a hotly contested game until there were less than 30 seconds remaining. Luckily for the Rockets, Kevin Martin's two free throws with 23.6 seconds left were all that they needed from him in the final period to pull out a victory over the team with the best record in the Western Conference.

Martin matched his season high with 32 points on 10-for-18 shooting, Luis Scola added 15 points and rookie Chandler Parsons netted 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds as Houston knocked off the Oklahoma City Thunder, 96-95, on Wednesday at Toyota Center.

Kevin Durant scored a game-high 33 points on 12-for-26 shooting to go with eight boards, while Russell Westbrook added 26 points and eight assists. The pair of young stars did not shine bright for Oklahoma City (22-7) in the fourth period, however, as they shot a combined 5-for-16 from the field and committed two turnovers.

Martin also found himself struggling mightily during the closing minutes until he exploited a defensive mismatch with Thunder center Kendrick Perkins, who was caught too far away from the basket on a defensive switch for the pick-and-roll. Martin started to drive, and then used a shot fake to bait Perkins into contact. After Martin's free throws fell through the hoop, Durant missed three consecutive shots on the other end of the court. Westbrook could not get a put-back off Durant's final miss to fall, ensuring that Houston (17-13) escaped with the win to halt a two-game losing streak overall and a four-game skid against Oklahoma City.

QUOTABLE: "I missed shots. That's what happens. Guys expecting me to make every shot late in the fourth quarter, you're setting yourself up for failure. We got unbelievable looks, better looks than we usually get."
-- Durant on what went wrong during the Thunder's final possession

THE STAT: Houston made one more 3-pointer than the Thunder despite attempting five fewer than Oklahoma City, which finished the game 7-for-23 from beyond the arc. Including Wednesday's 8-for-18 effort from long distance, the Rockets have shot 43.5 percent (50-for-115) from downtown over their last six games.

TURNING POINT: The Thunder led 95-92 with less than three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter when Houston's defense refused to budge another inch. The Rockets held Oklahoma City scoreless for the final 2:44 of regulation while getting a put-back layup from Kyle Lowry and Martin's free throws to grind out the one-point victory. Martin drew the foul on Perkins, who was left alone on the perimeter with the speedy guard after a costly defensive switch on an attempted pick-and-roll. The Thunder still had opportunities to snatch the victory, but they failed to convert despite having four looks at the potential game-winner.

QUOTABLE II: "Our guys won it with stops. ... The ball not going in is not the end of the world. You can grind it out. You can be tough. You can be physical."
-- Houston coach Kevin McHale on how his team overcame 42.5 percent shooting from the field and Martin's quiet fourth quarter

GOOD MOVE: Rockets forward Patrick Patterson showed great awareness of time and situation when he fouled Westbrook with 7.3 seconds left as Westbrook was driving toward the rim for what could have been the game-winning bucket. Houston had a foul to give, so Patterson's decision to grab Westbrook before he could soar into the air was arguably as crucial to the win as Martin's free throws.

HOT: In the third quarter, the Rockets' defense had no idea how to stymie Oklahoma City's superstar duo of Durant and Westbrook. The pair teamed up for 24 of the Thunder's 29 third-period points on 7-for-12 shooting (58.3 percent) to go with four rebounds.

HOT II: Martin kept Houston afloat during Durant and Westbrook's charge by pouring in 15 points on 6-for-9 shooting in the third quarter.

NOT: Thunder guard Daequan Cook, who entered Wednesday shooting a shade under 40 percent from 3-point range on the season, has connected on only three of 19 attempts (15.8 percent) from the perimeter over his last three games.

NOTABLE: Thunder guard Thabo Sefolosha (sore right foot) missed his 10th consecutive game but remains listed as day-to-day. Cook, Sefolosha's replacement in the starting lineup, found out before the game that he was not selected to participate in the annual 3-point shootout during All-Star weekend. ... Houston held Oklahoma City to a season-low 13 points in the first quarter, which also marked the fewest amount of points the Rockets have allowed in the first quarter. ... The Rockets improved to 3-0 this season in games decided by two points or less. ... Houston is now 16-1 when leading after three periods. ... Durant and Westbrook combined for 10 of Oklahoma City's 22 turnovers (26 Houston points off). ... The Thunder fell to 7-3 in games decided by six points or less. ... Oklahoma City fell to 12-2 when Serge Ibaka blocks at least three shots and 12-2 when it outrebounds its opponent. ... The Thunder will look to improve to 6-1 after a loss this season when they host Golden State on Friday.

UP NEXT: For the Thunder, Friday vs. Golden State, Sunday vs. Denver (ESPN), Monday vs. New Orleans. For the Rockets, Friday vs. Minnesota, Sunday vs. Utah, Monday vs. Memphis.

• Thunder: Maynor, Sefolosha
• Rockets: Morris, Smith

• Thunder: Perkins, Westbrook
• Rockets: Dalembert, Lowry

• Lead Changes: 12
• Times Tied: 9

• Arena: Toyota Center, Houston, TX
• Officials: #33 Zach Zarba, #26 Pat Fraher, #68 Marat Kogut
• Attendance: 18274
• Duration: 2:12