Kevin Durant scored eight of his 27 points in the final 1:52 as the Oklahoma City Thunder edged the host Houston Rockets 98-95 to complete a sweep of a home-and-home series on Saturday.
Russell Westbrook carried the Thunder until Durant found his shooting form in the closing minutes. Westbrook finished with 25 points, six assists and four rebounds. James Harden and Nazr Mohammed combined for 33 points off the bench for Oklahoma City, which improved to 7-2.
Durant, who shot just 10 of 25 from the floor, found his rhythm at the free throw line and hit two straight jumpers late, with the second giving the Thunder the 96-95 lead with 22.5 seconds on the clock.
Houston called a timeout but could not come up with a better shot than rookie Chandler Parsons hoisting up a 3-pointer that missed. Durant then sealed it at the free throw line.
The Rockets led 95-92 after Luis Scola hit two free throws with 1:34 remaining. Durant responded with a jumper and Houston would not score again.
Scola finished with 28 points and Goran Dragic had 20 for the Rockets.
Oklahoma City | Houston | |
Kevin Durant 27 | Scoring | Luis Scola 28 |
Russell Westbrook 6 | Assists | Goran Dragic 8 |
Kendrick Perkins 9 | Rebounds | Chandler Parsons 8 |
Kevin Durant 5 | Free Throws Made | Kevin Martin 6 |
Kevin Durant 1 | Steals | Chandler Parsons 3 |
Serge Ibaka 2 | Blocks | Jordan Hill 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Oklahoma City | 98 | 42.4 | 7-21 | 19-22 | 18 | 44 | 3 | 3 | 16 |
Houston | 95 | 43.7 | 5-14 | 14-15 | 23 | 41 | 5 | 7 | 13 |