The Houston Rockets, fueled by Alperen Sengun’s triple-double and some timely baskets from superstar Kevin Durant, rallied to beat the short-handed NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder 112-106 on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Houston trailed by as many as 15 in the second quarter against a Thunder team missing reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.<\/p>\n
But they chipped away to take the lead in the third period and held on down the stretch to snap a two-game losing streak.<\/p>\n
“We started making shots,” said Durant, a two-time NBA champion who launched his career with the Thunder franchise and heard boos from fans still miffed by his departure more than nine years ago.<\/p>\n
“I think we got good looks that first half, we just weren’t knocking them down. Second half, we knocked them down.<\/p>\n
“We knew they would slow down a bit,” Durant added. “They were playing with a lot of energy at home the first half. They were missing three guys, other guys get an opportunity (and) they took advantage in the first half. The second half, I think we came out with the same energy.”<\/p>\n
Durant, bottled up in a first half that saw him attempt just three shots, finished with 20 points on 6-of-10 shooting.<\/p>\n
Turkish center Sengun scored 17 points with 12 rebounds and 11 assists and added three steals and three blocked shots. Jabari Smith Jr. had a double-double of 22 points and 10 rebounds.<\/p>\n
Tari Eason led Houston’s scoring with 26 points as all five Rockets starters finished with at least 16.<\/p>\n
Cason Wallace led the Thunder with 23 points and Isaiah Joe added 21 off the bench for the reigning champions, who still boast the league’s best record at 40-13.<\/p>\n
Forward Chet Holmgren, back from a one-game injury absence, added 17 points and 14 rebounds, but the Thunder — missing Gilgeous-Alexander until after the All-Star break with an abdominal injury — couldn’t maintain their early momentum.<\/p>\n
In other early games, the Brooklyn Nets scored 80 points in the first half on the way to a 127-113 victory over the Washington Wizards, who had just eight players available amid injuries and the wait for newly traded players.<\/p>\n
Michael Porter Jr scored 23 points, 20 of them in the first half, as the Nets halted a three-game skid.<\/p>\n
Saturday’s other games include an all-Texas tussle between the Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs and a California clash between the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers that lost some luster with the injury absences of Warriors star Stephen Curry and the Lakers’ Luka Doncic.<\/p>\n
The Charlotte Hornets seek to push their winning streak to nine games when they visit the Atlanta Hawks.<\/p>\n
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