Thunder vs. Rockets Final Score: Oklahoma City Advances with 4-2 Series Victory over Houston
By Josh Hill
Oklahoma City was dealt a potentially crippling blow when they lost star point guard Russell Westbrook to a nasty knee injury, but the team persevered and have advanced to the Western Conference Semifinals and a showdown with the Memphis Grizzlies.
That loss of Westbrook is a cloud hanging over the series win, as a win over Houston was not only expected, it was basically guaranteed. But from here on out, the Thunder’s season is masked with a gigantic question mark as without Westbrook basically no one is convinced this team can make the run it was predicted to make at the beginning of the playoffs.
Memphis beat a pretty good Los Angeles Clippers team despite struggling with matchups, so the loss of Westbrook casts a shadow over that upcoming series as it’s not longer a favorable showdown for the Thunder.
Still, Oklahoma City has a big guy named Kevin Durant who is more than capable of carrying the team on his back. The question there is how long and how far can he carry the team on his own? Conventional wisdom suggests that Durant can carry the team to at least a seven game series with the Grizzlies but will Oklahoma City end up on the right end of that game.
For the Houston Rockets, the playoff loss is the end of an emotional ride for Kevin McHale and the rest of the team. After battling injuries and illness, and after overcoming the death of McHale’s young daughter, the Rockets played inspired in the series and really have no reason to hang their heads too low. They were seemingly dead in the water after the first three games but battled back to make a series out things and almost took the Thunder to a seventh game.
But this series is yet another that ends with Game 6. Houston put up a valiant effort but the Thunder were just too talented to lose in the first round. But while they couldn’t lose in the first round, they came close and that’s something to watch closely as Oklahoma City takes on a red-hot Memphis Grizzlies team in the Western Conference Semifinals.