{{pageModel.leagueAbbr}} {{pageModel.subtitle}} | Las Vegas Review-Journal
National Basketball Association
Oklahoma City 117, Houston 114
When: 4:00 PM ET, Monday, August 24, 2020
Where: AdventHealth Arena, Orlando, Florida
Officials: #25 Tony Brothers, #55 Bill Kennedy, #39 Tyler Ford
Attendance: N/A

Dennis Schroder converted a key turnover into a layup and the Oklahoma City Thunder evened their Western Conference first-round series with a 117-114 victory in Game 4 over the Houston Rockets in AdventHealth Arena at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex near Orlando.

After Danilo Gallinari picked off an errant pass from Rockets guard James Harden with 53.4 seconds left, Schroder scored to extend the Thunder lead to 111-108 with 35.9 seconds left.

Oklahoma City erased a 15-point, third-quarter deficit to post a second consecutive victory and square the series at two games apiece with Game 5 set for Wednesday at The Field House.

Schroder scored 30 points off the bench to lead the Thunder, while Chris Paul added 26 points, six rebounds and three steals. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander paired 18 points with 12 boards for the Thunder, who survived a 3-point onslaught from the Rockets that opened the second half.

Houston started the third quarter 8 of 8 from behind the arc and led 88-73 when Jeff Green scored off a Harden assist with 5:51 left in the period. But the Rockets then went ice cold, missing 20 of their ensuing 23 from deep as Oklahoma City roared back, starting with a 12-0 blitz to end the third, punctuated by a Schroder 31-foot buzzer-beating 3-pointer.

Harden led Houston with 32 points, 15 assists and four steals while Eric Gordon added 23 points. Houston attempted an NBA postseason-record 58 shots from 3-point range, converting 23.

Both teams raced to scorching shooting starts only to cool dramatically in the second quarter. The Rockets converted 8-of-15 3-pointers in the first quarter, including a 3 of 3 start from Harden, but carried a modest 37-35 lead into the second after the Thunder drilled 6 of 10 from deep.

The Rockets and Thunder shot a combined 3 of 18 from behind the arc in the second quarter, with Oklahoma City missing 8 of 9 attempts from deep.

Harden had 19 points with seven assists at the break and was buoyed by the support of Gordon and Danuel House Jr., who totaled a combined 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting in the first half to offset the 29 points posted by Gilgeous-Alexander and Schroder.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Houston   Oklahoma City
James Harden 32 Scoring Dennis Schroder 30
James Harden 15 Assists Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 6
P.J. Tucker 11 Rebounds Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 12
Eric Gordon 4 Free Throws Made Chris Paul 6
James Harden 4 Steals Chris Paul 3
Robert Covington 2 Blocks N/A
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Houston 114 45.1 23-58 9-10 25 40 2 7 14
Oklahoma City 117 48.8 11-32 22-28 16 46 0 6 15
Upcoming Games
  • Oklahoma City will play their next game on the road against Houston. The Thunder have a W/L % of .591 after a win and .643 after a loss.
  • Houston will play their next game at home against Oklahoma City. The Rockets have a W/L % of .644 after a win and .556 after a loss.