The Houston Rockets beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 115-111 in game two to take a 2-0 lead. It was a very competitive game, as the Thunder led most of the way, but The Rockets managed to take the victory in the final quarter. The visitors from Oklahoma City outscored the home team 68- 62 in the high-scoring first half, but they weren't that effective in the second half, as they scored only 43 points after the break. It was another MVP battle between Russell Westbrook and James Harden, as Harden led his team to another victory.
Westbrook had another monstrous triple-double
As usual, Russell Westbrook finished the game with a high scoring triple-double performance, but that just wasn't enough for the Thunder. Westbrook had an amazing 51 points, ten rebounds, 13 assists and four steals with just four turnovers, but he took an incredible 43 shots and missed 14 of them in the final quarter. Russell shot 17 of 43 from the field, 2 of 11 from outside and 15 of 18 from the free throw line. He took 44 percent of all Oklahoma's field goal attempts. The Thunder shot only 7 of 30 from the three point line and 41 percent overall. Victor Oladipo had 11 points and nine rebounds, while shooting just 4 of 14 from the field and 1 of 7 from downtown in 41 minutes on the floor.
Andre Roberson added 12 points and eight assists, while Taj Gibson and Steven Adams failed to score in double-digits, as they took only nine shots combined. Doug McDermott was a good addition off the bench, as he scored 11 points and missed only one shot, while Enes Kanter, their leading scorer off the bench, played just seven minutes, because of his lack of defense.
James Harden becomes a true leader
Harden is playing the best season of his career, and unlike Westbrook, he is not playing alone. Once again, he got support from his teammates and he needed only 17 shots to score 35 points. His ability to draw fouls is amazing, as he shot 20 free throws and hit 18 of them. Harden finished the game with 35 points, four rebounds and eight assists, while shooting 7 of 17 from the field and 3 of 7 from the outside.
The Rockets had an important scoring options on the bench, as Lou Williams and Eric Gordon combined for 43 points off the bench. Gordon had 22 points, while shooting 8 of 14 from the field and 3 of 6 from downtown, while Williams added 21 points, also shooting 8 of 14 from the field and 3 of 4 from the outside. Patrick Beverley had another great game with 15 points, six rebounds and four assists.
The next game is on the schedule for Friday, as the series will move to Oklahoma City.
