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Durant paces Thunder over Rockets

Jan 7, 2012 - 6:23 AM Oklahoma City, OK (Sports Network) - Kevin Durant scored a game-high 26 points and James Harden dropped in 23 as the Oklahoma City Thunder rolled to a 109-94 victory over the Houston Rockets on Friday.

Russell Westbrook added 15 points and five assists for the Thunder, who only trailed when Houston scored the first bucket of the contest. Serge Ibaka contributed 11 points and nine rebounds as Oklahoma City snapped a two-game losing streak.

"A good win for us," said Thunder head coach Scott Brooks. "Defensively we were really good and Kevin had one of his best all-around games."

Terrence Williams and Kevin Martin each scored 13 for the Rockets, while Goran Dragic dropped in 10 and dished out 11 assists in Houston's third straight loss.

Rockets guard Kyle Lowry, who has a bruised foot, missed the game on the same day he learned he was being charged with misdemeanor battery for an incident after a pick-up game in Las Vegas last year.

Houston's lone lead of the game came just a minute into the contest when Luis Scola converted on a driving layup within the opening minute of the first quarter.

From there it was all Oklahoma City, as Durant answered with a three-point play to take a lead the Thunder never lost.

"Right now we're not playing very well and we're digging ourselves a bit of a hole and we're going to have to dig our way out," said Rockets head coach Kevin McHale. "The only people who can dig them out is the players and I told them that, so we just have to keep on battling and just keep on fighting away.

"Right now we can't look at anything else besides our effort and our effort's gotta improve every single night."

The Thunder converted on 12-of-19 of their shots in the first quarter while holding the Rockets to a 9-for-25 performance on the way to a 30-20 lead after one.

Houston fared much better in the second, making 50 percent of its shots, but Oklahoma City went 6-for-8 from three-point range in the quarter and led by as much as 21 before taking a 58-41 advantage into the break.

The Thunder just cruised from there, holding at least a 15-point lead for the remainder of the game.

Game Notes

The two teams will also face each other on Saturday at Houston...Scola scored 10 points for Houston, while Patrick Patterson also netted 10...Houston held the advantage on the glass, 40-39.