By MoiseKapenda Bower, The Sports Xchange

HOUSTON -- Russell Westbrook repeatedly had his way with the Rockets defense, torching it to the tune of a Toyota Center scoring record for an opponent before three late misses set the table for James Harden to play the role of facilitator at the most opportune time for Houston.

Nene corralled a pass from Harden, absorbed a foul, and sank two free throws with 0.7 seconds left as the Houston Rockets eked out a 118-116 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night.

Off an inbounds play originating with 3.8 seconds left, Nene set a screen for Harden and rolled to the rim. Harden followed by passing out of the double team, hitting Nene in stride and forcing Thunder forward Jerami Grant to commit the foul. Nene finished with a season-high 18 points over 17 minutes.

"They (the Thunder) did a good job (setting up defensively) on the first play so we called a timeout," Harden said. "I just got open and I saw two defenders guarding me, made the simple play to Nene and he knocked down two free throws."

Harden posted 26 points, eight rebounds and 12 assists. All five Rockets starters scored in double figures, including guard Patrick Beverley (11 points, eight rebounds). Eric Gordon scored 22 off the bench.

The Rockets (28-9) regained possession after Westbrook missed a pull-up jumper with 5.7 seconds left, his third consecutive errant shot following a 3-pointer that cut the Houston lead to 114-113 with 2:38 left.

Westbrook scored 49 points, sinking a career-best eight 3-pointers. He added eight rebounds and five assists for the Thunder (21-16), which has lost four of five games and three in succession. Houston took a 2-1 season-series lead against the Thunder, with all three contests decided by one possession.

"It's fun, definitely fun," Rockets forward Trevor Ariza said. "It's all you can ask for: a hard-fought game and we get the win at the end of it."

After the Rockets erased a 14-point deficit with a 25-point turnaround in the first half, the Thunder returned the favor by wiping away an 85-67 third-quarter deficit. Victor Oladipo (17 points) capped the rally with a corner 3 for a 116-114 lead at the 1:55 mark. The Thunder bludgeoned the Rockets on the boards in the fourth, chipping away behind Enes Kanter (15 points, 13 rebounds) and Westbrook.

Westbrook scored nine points in the period and Oklahoma City turned six offensive rebounds into eight second-chance points in the fourth. But Westbrook missed 6 of 8 shots in the quarter as the Thunder failed to maintain the momentum that sprung from its long, methodical push to the lead.

"There is nothing to take you through," Westbrook said of his final attempt. "I missed the shot."

Thunder center Steven Adams converted a hook shot, two free throws, and a dunk before Westbrook nailed consecutive 3s to stretch the Thunder lead to 31-17 with 3:09 left in the first quarter. But Gordon followed with his first of five treys to ignite the Rockets, who closed the period with a 16-7 run.

Houston rode a 13-2 run to its first lead via a Nene dunk at the 7:11 mark of the second. The Rockets recorded 12 points in transition, hit 4 of 8 3-pointers and 8 of 11 from the free-throw line. Their defense limited the Thunder to 7 of 24 shooting after allowing Oklahoma City to shoot 62.5 percent in the first.

Gordon scored 13 points in the second quarter and the Rockets closed the half with 18 fast-break points and a 67-56 lead. But when the Thunder siphoned off those transition baskets its half court defense dug in and slowed the Rockets to a crawl. Houston did not record a fast-break point after the intermission, and Oklahoma City dominated the glass to eliminate the lead the Rockets worked to build.

"I thought our rebounding was good because it enabled us to get back on the break, and we didn't give up many second-chance points," Thunder coach Billy Donovan said. "Those two areas -- the transition and the rebounding -- were helpful."

NOTES: Rockets G Patrick Beverley returned to the starting lineup after missing two games with a right wrist sprain. Houston improved to 8-5 without Beverley, who is still experiencing pain in the wrist when he shoots, with victories over the New York Knicks and Washington Wizards. Beverley was sidelined the first 11 games following preseason knee surgery. ... The Rockets and Thunder offered a contrast in styles, at least in theory. Houston entered Thursday leading the NB with 540 3-pointers, 101 more than the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Thunder entered second in paint points averaging 50.2 per game. However, the Rockets were sixth in that category at 45.7 per game. ... In two previous games against the Thunder, both in Oklahoma City, Rockets G James Harden averaged just 17 points on 25.6 percent shooting.