National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Houston 107, Oklahoma City 100
When: 9:30 PM ET, Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Where: Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Officials: #14 Ed Malloy, #41 Ken Mauer, #22 Bill Spooner
Attendance: 18203

Rockets 107, Thunder 100:
James Harden scored 31 points and was 7-for-9 from 3-point range to lead Houston to a scintillating road win in Oklahoma City to cut the Thunder’s lead to 3-2 in the best-of-seven Western Conference series.

Omer Asik had 21 points and 11 rebounds, Francisco Garcia recorded 18 points and Patrick Beverley scored 14 as the eighth-seeded Rockets made 14 3-pointers while winning their second straight to tighten up the series. Game 6 is Friday in Houston.

Kevin Durant scored 36 points but was shut out in the final quarter and Reggie Jackson added 20 points for Oklahoma City. The top-seeded Thunder were only 8-for-33 from 3-point range and badly missed standpoint point guard Russell Westbrook, who is out for the postseason after suffering a knee injury in Game 2.

Struggling to slow Harden and Houston’s perimeter attack, the Thunder employed a strategy of fouling Asik repeatedly during a 2 1/2-minute stretch of the fourth quarter. Asik went 9-of-14 during the stretch to foil the strategy as the Rockets led by nine with 3:53 left and Garcia’s fifth 3-pointer made it 107-94 with 1:39 to go.

Harden had 16 first-half points and Garcia added 14 as Houston took a 50-43 halftime lead. The advantage reached 66-50 on a basket by Chandler Parsons with 7:39 left in the third quarter before the Rockets settled for an 87-75 edge entering the fourth.

GAME NOTEBOOK:
Rockets PG Jeremy Lin (chest) missed his second straight contest. … Thunder G Kevin Martin, who was acquired from Houston in the trade for Harden, had three points on 1-of-10 shooting. … Beverley was booed vociferously throughout the contest because of his involvement in the play that caused Westbrook’s season-ending injury.
Top Game Performances
 
Houston   Oklahoma City
James Harden 31 Scoring Kevin Durant 36
Chandler Parsons 4 Assists Kevin Durant 7
Omer Asik 11 Rebounds Serge Ibaka 9
Omer Asik 13 Free Throws Made Kevin Durant 13
Patrick Beverley 1 Steals Thabo Sefolosha 2
Omer Asik 2 Blocks Nick Collison 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Houston 107 47.2 14-35 25-37 15 42 5 4 15
Oklahoma City 100 41.9 8-33 20-28 20 43 10 5 9
Upcoming Games
  • Oklahoma City will play their next game on the road against Houston. The Thunder have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .000 after a loss.
  • Houston will play their next game at home against Oklahoma City. The Rockets have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .000 after a loss.