National Basketball Association
Oklahoma City 104, Houston 100
When: 9:00 PM ET, Monday, August 31, 2020
Where: AdventHealth Arena, Orlando, Florida
Officials: #58 Josh Tiven, #24 Kevin Scott, #8 Marc Davis
Attendance: N/A

Chris Paul scored a team-high 28 points and carried the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 104-100 victory over the Houston Rockets on Monday near Orlando, forcing a decisive seventh game in the teams' Western Conference first-round playoff series.

Game 7 is scheduled for Wednesday at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, with the winner advancing to oppose the Los Angeles Lakers in the conference semifinals.

Paul tallied 15 points in the fourth quarter and drilled back-to-back 3-pointers that pulled the Thunder even at 98-98 with 2:57 remaining. His two free throws with 13.1 seconds left provided the winning margin for the Thunder.

Paul added seven rebounds, three assists and three steals in 40 turnover-free minutes. The Rockets, conversely, committed 22 turnovers, including seven from Russell Westbrook, whose errant pass following the Paul free throws sealed the defeat for the mistake-prone Rockets.

James Harden paced the Rockets with 32 points and also had eight rebounds and seven assists but committed five turnovers. Robert Covington added 18 points, five steals and three blocks for Houston but was the defender on both Paul treys and committed the foul that placed Paul at the line late.

There were 14 lead changes and 11 ties. The Thunder surged back into contention with a 16-3 run that bridged the final two periods, pushing to an 85-78 lead in the process.

Danilo Gallinari chipped in 25 points for Oklahoma City and Luguentz Dort, who shot 0-for-9 from behind the arc in Game 5, hit two 3-pointers as part of the run that lifted the Thunder back in contention in the third.

Westbrook scored 17 points while Eric Gordon missed 9 of 12 shots and had nine points for Houston.

The Rockets and Thunder combined for 10 turnovers and 5-for-22 3-point shooting in what was a ragged first quarter, but Harden provided the Rockets a bit of stability in the second. He amassed 17 points, four rebounds and four assists prior to the intermission, and his length-of-the-court pass to Gordon resulted in a buzzer-beating 3-pointer that provided Houston a 51-48 lead at the break.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Houston   Oklahoma City
James Harden 32 Scoring Chris Paul 28
James Harden 7 Assists Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 6
P.J. Tucker 11 Rebounds Steven Adams 14
James Harden 7 Free Throws Made Darius Bazley 5
Robert Covington 5 Steals Chris Paul 3
Robert Covington 3 Blocks Luguentz Dort 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Houston 100 45.2 15-44 9-12 19 41 5 14 22
Oklahoma City 104 42.7 12-36 16-18 17 51 3 10 19
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.