Durant, Thunder fall short against Houston

Durant, Thunder fall short against Houston

Published Nov. 28, 2010 8:10 p.m. ET


HOUSTON (AP)
-- Kevin Martin scored 23 points, Shane Battier hit 4 of 6 attempts from 3-point range and the Houston Rockets held off the Oklahoma City Thunder 99-98 Sunday night.

The Thunder trailed most of the game but rallied in the fourth quarter and took it down to the final second, when Kevin Durant missed a short jumper.

The loss snapped Oklahoma City's five-game road winning streak and extended its losing streak to 11 in a row at Toyota Center.

Battier scored 18 points and hit three of his 3-pointers in the third quarter to help the Rockets maintain the lead. Houston was 10 of 17 from 3-point range. Kyle Lowry scored 14 points and Luis Scola added 13.

Russell Westbrook led Oklahoma City with 23 points, including 10 in the third quarter when the Thunder rallied from a 50-42 halftime deficit for a brief 63-61 lead with 5:27 to go in the period. Westbrook also had 10 assists.

The Rockets took a 77-71 lead into the fourth quarter.

Oklahoma City never led in the fourth quarter but cut it to 99-98 with 30 seconds to play on a basket by Westbrook. Lowry missed a shot with five seconds left and Thabo Sefolosha got the rebound before Durant's final attempt.

The Thunder haven't won at Toyota Center since an 87-85 victory on Feb. 22, 2005.

Serge Ibaka scored 12 of Oklahoma City's first 14 points, but Scola had 11 points and Martin added eight in the first quarter and the Rockets held a 33-25 lead at the end of the period.

Houston stretched the lead to 37-25 to open the second quarter, its biggest lead of the first half. The Thunder cut it to eight in a cold shooting quarter for both teams, and the Rockets held a 50-42 lead at halftime.

Notes: Oklahoma City trailed Indiana by 14 points in the third quarter on Friday night. Durant scored 11 of his 25 points in the final two minutes and overtime to pull out the victory. ... Houston is off to its worst start since opening 4-12 in 2005-2006. ... Before the loss, Oklahoma City had been 8-0 in games decided by seven or fewer points and 3-0 in games decided by one point.

Updated November 28, 2010

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