Houston Wins Another Buzzer Beater Against OKC

Grant Belcher, News9.com

OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma – Entering Tuesday night's game, the Thunder and Rockets were sitting in the top and eighth spots in the Western Conference playoff race.

And if that ends up being the actual first round pairing, fans of both teams are in for an exciting series.

Oklahoma City and Houston always seem to put together some entertaining matchups, and Tuesday night was no different in a 104-103 Thunder loss.

It was the second-straight one-point victory for Houston over the Thunder. The Rockets won 96-95 in Houston on Feb. 15.

The Thunder took the matchup before that 98-95 and the two teams split the season series.

Oklahoma City's fourth-quarter performance on Tuesday night could only be described as a bit of a meltdown.

OKC rallied to lead by 11 points, 102-91, with 2:29 remaining in the game.

But a host of turnovers plagued the Thunder and allowed the Rockets right back into it.

Russell Westbrook turned the ball over twice in the final minute of the game and also picked up a technical foul, giving Houston an untimely free point in what ended up being a one-point loss.

With 15 seconds to play, OKC led by two but gave up a 3-pointer to the Rockets' Courtney Lee, giving Houston its final margin of victory.

The Thunder had a chance to win it at the end, but Kevin Durant's jumper rattled out and Serge Ibaka missed a putback under the basket, sealing OKC's fate.

Houston was without star point-guard Kyle Lowry, who will be out for a couple of weeks. But forward Chandler Parsons stepped up and took over part of the scoring load, putting up a career-high 21 points.

Lee had 21 points as well to lead Houston.

Kevin Durant scored 28 to go with 12 rebounds in leading the Thunder, which had five players in double figures.

OKC has now lost two games in a stretch of three for only the second time this season.

And it will prepare to hit the road for the first time in six games.

The Thunder will head to division rival Denver for a Thursday evening matchup with the Nuggets. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m.