Thunder lean on Rus and Kev to humble Rockets

Oklahoma City's All-Star duo of Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant scored 29 points each to ward off the pesky Houston Rocket team, 105-102, to take the commanding 2-0 lead with the series now shifting to Clutch City.

Former Thunder guard James Harden led the way for Houston with 36 points, capping off the 21-2 run made by their run towards the midway of the final salvo, a point which they took the lead, 95-91, but with their late game poise which was very evident, the Thunder protected their homecourt packed with 18,203 screaming fans and still managed to stop the bleeding ergo the victory.

The third game of the series will be on Sunday morning Manila time.

Rockets head coach Kevin McHale inserted guard Patrick Beverley in place of Harvard grad Jeremy Lin in the starting lineup. The unheralded guard responded nicely with a double-double performance, scoring 16 points and dishing off 12 assists in 41 minutes of play. Chandler Parsons added 17 points and 7 boards in consolation.

Three other Thunder players scored in double figures, led by Spanish international Serge Ibaka (12), Thabo Sefolosha (11) and Kevin Martin (10), who's part of the trade for James Harden.