|
 Harden finished with 37 points on 12-of-26 shooting and made more
three-pointers (four) against the Thunder than he did in his first
three games combined, with two late misses undermining a solid
night.
Lawson, an offseason acquisition from the Denver Nuggets, added 14
points, 11 assists and four steals for Houston (1-3) but a defensive
effort that forced 25 turnovers superseded the offensive fireworks
in a much-needed first win of the campaign.
"As long as we can stay on the same page defensively," Harden said.
"Tonight was about making the extra effort, it was about getting
stops, knowing the game plan, knowing who's going to be effective.
Making sure we corral those players."
Rockets center Dwight Howard (16 points, eight rebounds, four
blocks), maligned for his free-throw shooting, sank two foul shots
with 5.7 seconds left to seal the victory.
His surprising accuracy came after Thunder forward Kevin Durant
missed a three-pointer that would have tied the game.
"A lot of positives," Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. "We haven't
had many positives this year so far, but that's something to build
on."
Durant finished with 29 points on 9-of-19 shooting but also had five
turnovers.
Guard Russell Westbrook, whose three-pointer with 44.2 seconds left
cut the deficit to three, added 25 points, eight rebounds, 11
assists and seven turnovers for Oklahoma City (3-1).
What the Rockets sorely needed -- some positive momentum -- came in
the form of foul trouble for Westbrook. With 9:24 remaining in the
third quarter, Westbrook picked up his fourth foul and retreated to
the bench.
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Trailing 71-57, Houston immediately fashioned a rally, limiting the
Thunder to just two field goals over the remainder of the period.
The Rockets forced 10 turnovers in the third while simultaneously
finding the bottom of the net, with guard Marcus Thornton and Harden
drilling consecutive three-pointers after the Rockets scored three
successive baskets at the rim to close within 75-71.
While Oklahoma City scratched together four free throws down the
stretch the Rockets kept running, finally reclaiming the lead at
80-79 on a bomb from guard Patrick Beverley with 61 seconds left in
the third.
"I thought our third quarter was tough," Thunder coach Billy Donovan
said.
"We only scored 13 points in the quarter and didn't really have a
great flow offensively. We had some turnovers that allowed them to
get on the break. As a group, we probably needed to perform better
in the third quarter than we did."
(Editing by John O'Brien)
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