Oklahoma City, OK (Sports Network) - Carl Landry scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, as the Houston Rockets continued their dominance over the Oklahoma City Thunder with a 100-91 victory at the Ford Center.
The Rockets have won 12 straight games versus the Thunder, who haven't beaten Houston since they were located in Seattle back on April 4, 2006. The Rockets have won 18 of the past 19 matchups between the teams and six straight as the guest.
Aaron Brooks added 21 points and four assists for the Rockets, who snapped a two-game skid. Trevor Ariza ended with 17 points while David Andersen tallied 12 points and eight rebounds for Houston, which outscored Oklahoma City, 55-37, in the second half.
"Its huge for us. We have to get him started. I think he changed his speed a little bit in the second half. We set better picks for him to free him up. We have to be sure to find a way so he gets separation from his guy," Rockets head coach Rick Adelman said of Brooks.
Kevin Durant finished with 25 points, nine rebounds, and six assists for the Thunder, who had a two-game winning streak come to an end. Russell Westbrook chipped in 20 points and five assists. Jeff Green added 12 points and seven rebounds in defeat.
"Passing the ball is very critical with how we play. Tonight, I wouldn't say it was one of our worst games. But it definitely could have improved throughout the game," said Thunder head coach Scott Brooks.
Ahead 89-86 with 2:04 to play, the Rockets used an Andersen deuce to go ahead by five with 1:40 remaining. After Westbrook missed a three-pointer at the other end, Landry dunked the ball to put Houston ahead 93-86 with over a minute to go.
The Thunder never got closer than four the rest of the way, as the Rockets made 7-of-8 foul shots down the stretch to seal the win.
The Thunder led 29-20 late in the first quarter, but the Rockets finished the period with five straight points to cut the gap to 29-25 after 12 minutes.
Oklahoma City held around a five-point margin for the entire second stanza and led 54-45 at the break.
Down 65-59, Houston used a small 8-2 spurt to deadlock things. A Brooks jumper tied the tilt at 67 with 1:19 left in the third. A Durant deuce had Oklahoma City ahead 71-69 heading to the fourth.
The final frame remained tight until the final minutes.
Game Notes
Rockets forward Luis Scola left the game early in the first quarter after cutting his right eyelid. Scola did not return to the game and received seven stitches...Houston shot 40.4 percent from the field, while Oklahoma City made 48 percent of its shots...The Thunder went 1-of-15 from beyond the arc, compared to 7-of-23 for Houston...Oklahoma City turned the ball over 20 times...The Rockets, who started a four-game road trip on Sunday, play the Clippers on Wednesday. The Thunder welcome the Sixers to town on Wednesday.