Rockets crush Thunder
posted 12:12 am Sun November 02, 2008
- (Sports Network) - Tracy McGrady led six Houston players in double figures with 22 points, as the Rockets posted an 89-77 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
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Yao Ming added 16 points and 11 rebounds for Houston, which remained perfect this season at 3-0. The Rockets have won each of their games by at least 10 points.
Carl Landry came off the bench to score 14 points and grab 11 boards for Houston.

"It was more of a team effort," Landry said. "There are areas we need to improve on. In the first half, we didn't get back in transition and protect the basket. We regrouped at halftime, and came out better in the second half."
Kevin Durant led all scorers with 26 points, but Oklahoma City stayed winless with its second loss this season. Johan Petro and Jeff Green each had 10 points, the only other Thunder players in double-digit scoring.
"We came out and played hard," Durant said. "We played a great first half, but we ended up giving them easy baskets in the second half."
The teams traded baskets in the first quarter, which Houston came out of ahead by a 20-17 margin, and that pattern continued through the second. Only a Luis Scola jumper in the final seconds gave the Rockets a 42-41 lead at the break.
But after a Green jumper put Oklahoma City in front, 47-46, less than three minutes into the third, Houston broke out with a 12-4 run.
Scola had four points in the surge, including two free throws that put Houston ahead 58-51 with a little more than five minutes left in the third.
The Rockets continued to hold a several-possession lead for the remainder of the third, and went into the final frame ahead 65-59.
But a 12-2 run to open the fourth helped the Rockets put some distance between themselves and the Thunder. Landry scored six points during it, including a jumper with a little under nine minutes left in the game that capped the run, giving Houston a 77-61 advantage.
It was a back-breaking run, as Oklahoma City never got within 10 points the rest of the game.
Game Notes
Scola, Ron Artest and Alston each had 10 points...Houston made 27-of-31 free throws, while Oklahoma City was 9-for-12...The Thunder went 0-for-4 on three- point attempts, and shot just 40 percent.
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