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Oklahoma steals Rockets' Thunder on Harden's return
Source: Agencies |
November 30, 2012, Friday
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KEVIN Durant greeted former teammate James Harden with 37 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder blasted the Houston Rockets 120-98 on Wednesday to spoil the shooting guard's return to the Chesapeake Energy Arena.
Harden returned to Oklahoma City for the first time since being traded just before the season and it was a forgettable night for him and the Rockets (7-8).
Powered by Durant's hot shooting, the Thunder (12-4) blew open a close game in the second quarter where they led by 18 before keeping the visiting Rockets at bay.
"I really wanted to win this game," Durant said. "Especially for all those times in practice that (Harden) and the rest of the second team beat all of us on the first team."
Harden, the Sixth Man of the Year last season, has emerged as the lead scorer for Houston but struggled against the Thunder making three of 16 shots for 17 points.
It had already been a humbling day for the Rockets who earlier attended the funeral of coach Kevin McHale's daughter who died from an auto-immune disease last week. McHale's been away from the team since November 10.
In Boston, Massachusetts, the Brooklyn Nets beat the Celtics 95-83 in an Eastern Conference clash that turned nasty in the second quarter when three players were ejected after a skirmish.
Nets forward Kris Humphries sparked the melee when he gave Kevin Garnett a hard foul along the baseline. The Celtics' Rajon Rondo retaliated by pushing Humphries, and the two tussled near the crowd as players from both sides converged on the scene.
Humphries, Rondo and Brooklyn forward Gerald Wallace were all thrown out of the game.
The ejection proved costly for Rondo, who saw his streak of 37 games with at least 10 assists come to an end. Rondo's run was tied for second longest all time in the NBA.
Harden returned to Oklahoma City for the first time since being traded just before the season and it was a forgettable night for him and the Rockets (7-8).
Powered by Durant's hot shooting, the Thunder (12-4) blew open a close game in the second quarter where they led by 18 before keeping the visiting Rockets at bay.
"I really wanted to win this game," Durant said. "Especially for all those times in practice that (Harden) and the rest of the second team beat all of us on the first team."
Harden, the Sixth Man of the Year last season, has emerged as the lead scorer for Houston but struggled against the Thunder making three of 16 shots for 17 points.
It had already been a humbling day for the Rockets who earlier attended the funeral of coach Kevin McHale's daughter who died from an auto-immune disease last week. McHale's been away from the team since November 10.
In Boston, Massachusetts, the Brooklyn Nets beat the Celtics 95-83 in an Eastern Conference clash that turned nasty in the second quarter when three players were ejected after a skirmish.
Nets forward Kris Humphries sparked the melee when he gave Kevin Garnett a hard foul along the baseline. The Celtics' Rajon Rondo retaliated by pushing Humphries, and the two tussled near the crowd as players from both sides converged on the scene.
Humphries, Rondo and Brooklyn forward Gerald Wallace were all thrown out of the game.
The ejection proved costly for Rondo, who saw his streak of 37 games with at least 10 assists come to an end. Rondo's run was tied for second longest all time in the NBA.
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