Thunder Survive Another Shaky Fourth
The Oklahoma City Thunder dodged a bullet Friday Night as they held on to beat the Houston Rockets 115-113, narrowly avoiding another fourth quarter playoff collapse. After losing the first two games of the series in Houston, the Thunder faced a must win as the series shifted to the Chesapeake Energy Arena.
Once again OKC came out strong, as Russell Westbrook recorded his second straight Triple Double, scoring 32 points with 13 rebounds and 11 assists. The Thunder also got strong performances from Taj Gibson who scored 20 points, while Victor Oladipo and Andre Roberson each scored 12 points, as Oklahoma City built an early double digit lead thanks to 34 points in the first quarter.
The Thunder remained in control of the game until the fourth quarter, as they held 93-83 lead entering the final quarter. The Rockets meanwhile were getting a big game from James Harden who had a game high 44 points, with six boards and six dimes, while Lou Williams scored 22 points off the bench.
The Rockets chipped away at the Thunder lead throughout the fourth quarter, eventually tying the game at 111-111 with 52 seconds left. The Thunder feeling another ChOKe coming on answered as Steven Adams tipped home a Russell Westbrook miss from 24 feet out. The Thunder stayed in front, but kept Houston in the game as Westbrook missed a free throw with eight seconds left. Down by two, the Rockets decided to go for the win, but James Harden’s three point shot at the buzzer hit the front of the win, allowing the Oklahoma City to escape with the win.
Russell Westbrook had his seventh career playoff Triple Double as Thunder survived to beat the Rockets in Game 3.
The Thunder will attempt to even the series on Sunday in Game 4, which will tip off Sunday Afternoon and 2:30 PM Central Time in Oklahoma City.
Frank Fleming is the creator of the SportsEcyclopedia.com