Tale Of Two Halves: Thunder Escapes Houston After Rockets' Record Collapse

The first half was rough. 

The Rockets couldn't miss and the Oklahoma City couldn't connect.  It looked as though the shorthanded Thunder was on its way to getting run out of the gym Thursday night in Houston.  The Rockets scored 73 points and drilled 12 3-pointers in the half. 

But then the second half came, and things completely flip-flopped.  Night turned to day for OKC as the Thunder got hot and Houston fell flat on its face. 

Houston scored only 19 points in the entire second half, allowing the Thunder to storm back and snatch a 104-92 victory in the wildest turnaround in NBA history. 

So wild in fact, that Houston set an NBA record for largest negative point differential between halves with -54. 

The linescore is almost unfathomable.  After scoring 32 points in the first quarter and 41 in the second, the Rockets managed only 10 in the third and nine in the fourth. 

After draining 12-20 3-pointers in the first half, Houston missed all 14 in the second. The Thunder missed all eight of its 3-balls in the first, but nailed six in the second half.

When TNT's sideline reporter David Aldridge asked Durant about the turnaround, he looked up at the scoreboard and couldn't believe it.

"They scored 19 points in the second half? Wow, that's probably one of the best halves of basketball we've ever played." 

Kevin Durant didn't have his best shooting night (8-21) but still found a way to dominate with 36 points.  18-20 from the free-throw line certainly helped, as did his seven assists and five rebounds.  

Reggie Jackson was on fire for OKC, scoring 23 points on 11-19 shooting.  He also dished out four assists and grabbed six steals.  

Serge Ibaka was also dominant for the Thunder, scoring 21 points on 10-13, grabbing 15 rebounds and blocking five shots. 

James Harden scored 16 points in the first half, but failed to score a point in the second. Harden fell to 3-9 against his former team, with eight of those matchups coming sans Russell Westbrook. 

Dwight Howard finished with 11 points and eight boards, and wasn't happy about if after the game. 

"I hate losing to these guys," Howard mumbled. 

The Thunder improved to 29-10 while Houston fell to 26-15.  OKC is back at Chesapeake Arena on Friday night to face the Golden State Warriors.