Oklahoma City Thunder vs Houston Rockets Match Player Stats On Apr 16, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Apr 17, 2017

HOUSTON -- Patrick Beverley carried the load until James Harden rebounded from a poor shooting start, and the Houston Rockets claimed Game 1 of their Western Conference first-round series with a 118-87 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday night at Toyota Center.

Beverley scored a playoff career-high 21 points and added 10 rebounds, steering the ship until Harden got untracked. Harden missed all six of his 3-point attempts in the first half but finished with 37 points, nine assists and seven boards.

Game 2 is Wednesday night at Toyota Center.

Thunder guard Russell Westbrook, a co-favorite with Harden for league MVP honors, tallied 22 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and nine turnovers. He missed 17 of 23 shot attempts and was largely rendered ineffective in the second half, scoring seven points as Houston extended its five-point halftime lead to 33 points.

Nene added 15 points off the bench for the Rockets, who outrebounded the Thunder 56-41 and limited Oklahoma City to just four second-chance points. Houston shot 49.5 percent from the floor despite missing 23 of 33 3-pointers.

Oklahoma City shot 37 percent from the field, getting 18 points from Andre Roberson and 10 from Jerami Grant.

Beverley was hot from the very start, and his scorching shooting helped carry the Rockets while Harden scuffled from the perimeter and the free-throw line.

While Harden labored through a 1-for-7 start, Beverley drained two 3-pointers. It wasn't until Harden started attacking the rim in the second half of the first quarter that he got himself going, and his back-to-back driving layups cut the Thunder lead to 29-27 entering the second quarter.

Nene joined the fray in the second period, teaming with Beverley to give the Rockets an inside-outside scoring duo. Beverley and Nene combined for 20 points and 12 rebounds in the first half. By the close of the second, Harden had discovered his rhythm, pouring in 20 points by the intermission for a 59-54 lead.

NOTES: Thunder F Andre Roberson made three 3-pointers just three times in the regular season. He finished 4 of 6 from behind the arc Sunday after going 3 of 3 in the first half. ... Oklahoma City led the league in offensive rebound rate at 27.9 percent but grabbed just four offensive boards in the first half and didn't record a second-chance basket until the 4:00 mark of the third quarter. The Thunder finished with seven offensive boards. ... The Rockets posted a 62-38 advantage on points in the paint.