Durant vs. Harden: Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Houston Rockets [Betting Preview]
Since being trade by his former team, James Harden could only muster one win in four regular season games against the Oklahoma City Thunder, which also ousted Harden’s Houston Rockets in the 2013 NBA Playoffs.
Harden and the Rockets host the Kevin Durant and the Thunder Thursday night as the two high-scoring teams meet in a Western Conference marquee match-up featuring two of the best scoring wingmen in the league today.
Harden, fifth in the league in scoring at 24.6 points per game leads a Houston squad which is 4th overall in scoring at 105.2 PPG while Durant averages 29.8 PPG—or the best in the NBA for the Thunder, which is 6th in NBA scoring at 104.7 PPG. In other words, expect another high-scoring affair when these ball clubs slug it out on primetime Thursday.
Houston stakes a three-game winning streak-- all on the road-- against the Thunder, who have struggled of late losing three of their last four games.
The Rockets are coming off a close 103-100 win over the New Orleans Pelicans led by Harden who hit the game-winning three-pointer with 28 seconds to go.
The 24-year-old guard top-scored for his team with 26 points and also added 7 assists. Houston also got timely contributions from power forward Terrence Jones (25 points and 8 rebounds), Chandler Parsons (17 points and 8 rebounds) and Dwight Howard (12 points, 11 rebounds and 3 blocked shots).
Meanwhile OKC's struggles can be blamed on lack of offense-- despite Durant's best efforts. They only average 94.2 PPG in their last four, far cry from their season average. The 25-year-old forward has dropped 48, 30, 33 and 37 in those games but can't find consistent support from his teammates.
Watch the Thunder vs. Rockets via NBA League Pass.