before the 7:00 mark to give Ole Miss a four-point lead. The spr

OKLAHOMA CITY -- There will be times the Oklahoma City Thunder will miss Russell Westbrook as he rehabs from another knee surgery, but Sunday certainly wasnt one of those nights. Kevin Durant had 33 points, 13 rebounds and five assists and the Thunder won their second straight game without Westbrook, beating the Houston Rockets 117-86. Jeremy Lamb added a career-high 22 points (on 8 of 10 shooting) and five assists for Oklahoma City, which has the NBAs best record at 25-5. The Thunder have won 12 of their last 13 and 20 of their last 22 games. Reggie Jackson, starting in Westbrooks place, had 16 points and eight assists as the Thunder never trailed and led by as many as 32 points against a team they beat in six games in the first round of last seasons playoffs. Durant said the experience of playing without Westbrook for the final four games of that series and the rest of the playoffs prepared the Thunder for what they must face now. "Its still tough not having him here, but we know what we have to do now," Durant said. "We learned from our mistakes last time. Hopefully we just keep getting better and when he comes back its kind of a seamless transition for us." Oklahoma City shot 57 per cent from the field (47 of 82) in dealing the Rockets their worst loss of the season. The Thunder held James Harden to eight points on 2-of-9 shooting, while Dwight Howard, often stymied by Oklahoma City centre Kendrick Perkins, had nine points on 4-of-13 shooting and nine rebounds. "That team is a very, very high-powered offence," Durant said. "Theyre so quick up the floor. We just wanted to let them see bodies and just play hard. . Weve got to do a better job (defensively) but tonight was a step in the right direction." Aaron Brooks had 17 points and Chandler Parsons scored 15 for Houston, which was playing its fourth game in five days. The Rockets, who had a three-game winning streak snapped, missed their first 12 shots and shot 36.5 per cent from the field (31 of 85). Houston coach Kevin McHale wouldnt use fatigue as an excuse for the Rockets performance. "Youre playing basketball," McHale said, shaking his head. "Youre not logging tall timbers, believe me. Four games in five nights ... next question. "We couldnt stop them. We couldnt run. We had nothing." Oklahoma City is 3-2 this season without Westbrook. The All-Star point guard underwent arthroscopic knee surgery on Friday, his third surgery since last April, when he tore his meniscus after Houston guard Patrick Beverley banged knees with him as Westbrook tried to call a timeout in Game 2 of last seasons playoff series. The Thunder have said Westbrooks latest surgery will sideline him until after the All-Star break. Oklahoma City won 89-85 at Charlotte on Friday night in their first game since that surgery, as Durant had 34 points and 12 rebounds. "The teams going to pick it up," Jackson said. "Were going to do things collectively. Were going to find a way to play, but we all know our limitations. We all know what were good at. . We dont know, necessarily, where well get it from each and every night, but were just trying to go ahead and find our shots and continue to take them." Oklahoma City jumped to a 13-0 lead as the Rockets failed to score until Howard hit a 3-foot jump hook with 5:27 left in the first quarter. The Thunder extended their lead to 22-5 on a driving layup by Thabo Sefolosha and were up 26-14 at the end of the quarter. The Thunders lead stayed in double digits most of the second quarter and Oklahoma City led 56-44 at halftime. Parsons opened the second half with a corner 3-pointer to pull the Rockets within nine points, but Durant hit two 3-pointers and Jackson had another during a 15-0 run to give Oklahoma City its biggest lead to that point at 71-47. Houston came no closer than 17 points the rest of the way. "We just had a tough time making shots tonight," Howard said. "That happens. Weve got to come out better. Weve got to find a way to get ourselves going. Thats it." Houston also struggled at the free throw line, hitting just 17 of 31 attempts (54.8 per cent). Sefolosha scored 13 points, one off his season high, for Oklahoma City. Omri Casspi added 15 points for the Rockets. Notes: Harden, a former fan favourite with the Thunder before being traded to Houston before last season, received a strong mix of boos and cheers during pregame introductions. Right before the tipoff, Harden walked over to the Thunder bench to greet some of his former teammates and coaches ... Houstons 14-point first quarter was a season low and the Rockets second-lowest quarter of the season . Brooks hit a halfcourt shot at the end of the third quarter, which pulled the Rockets within 90-70. Leon Goretzka Germany Jersey . The striker headed Spurs into a 35th-minute lead and tapped in their third in the 71st after Chico Flores own goal. Wilfried Bony hit the bar and had a good penalty appeal for a push by Tottenham captain Michael Dawson turned down in the first half, before getting Swanseas consolation late on. Leon Goretzka Jersey . On Wednesday, Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas hit back. In a passionate defence of himself and the London clubs medical staff, the Portuguese coach rebuked the "incompetent people" who have attacked Tottenham for allowing Lloris to continue playing after being briefly knocked unconscious against Everton on Sunday. http://www.germanysoccerpro.com/Antonio-Rudiger-Germany-Jersey/ . Ricciardo made it only halfway around the Jerez track before his RB10 rolled to a stop and began spouting smoke from the back. After team mechanics tended to the car, Ricciardo went back out for a mere two trips around the circuit before calling it quits. Kevin Trapp Jersey .com) - The Carolina Hurricanes hope to remain perfect at home in January on Friday night as they welcome the Vancouver Canucks to PNC Arena. Matthias Ginter Jersey . Just as the meeting was beginning, Major League Baseball unveiled Rule 7.13, an experimental rule for the 2014 season aimed at eliminating what the league calls “egregious” runner/catcher collisions at home plate.Lexington, KY (SportsNetwork.com) - Aaron Harrison scored a season-high 26 points and No. 1 Kentucky needed overtime to take down Ole Miss, 89-86, in the SEC opener. Kentucky asserted itself as the most dangerous team in the nation during non- conference play, beating perennial powers Kansas, Texas, North Carolina and UCLA by a combined 97 points before edging in-state rival Louisville, 58-50, on Dec. 27. But the Wildcats (14-0, 1-0 SEC) had a nine-day layoff since that win over the Cardinals and the rust showed as Ole Miss, which lost at home to Charleston Southern earlier this season, took the top-ranked Wildcats to the wire. Harrison made five 3-pointers and 9-of-10 from the foul line while his brother Andrew posted 12 points and five assists. Willie Cauley-Stein provided his usual stellar defense, racking up four blocks and three steals on top of a game-high 12 rebounds. Stefan Moody paced Ole Miss (9-5, 0-1) with 25 points, but missed most of overtime with a leg cramp. Jarvis Summers scored 23 points and Ladarius White added 15. Trailing by three with time winding down in overtime, Summers missed a pull-up jumper and the ball caromed out of bounds to Kentucky. The inbounds pass went to Trey Lyles with a chance to ice the game, but the freshman missed both, leaving the door open. With Moody on the bench and Summers facing pressure, the ball swung to Martavious Newby, who adjusted mid-air against a close-out on his 3-point try from the right wing. His shot hit the backboard and spun around the rim before bouncing out and landing in Cauley-Steins arms. Kentucky passed the ball around, killinng the remaining time.dddddddddddd The games opening segment belonged to the Harrisons, with Andrew assisting on all three of Aarons 3-pointers before the first media timeout. His first 3 made it 10-0 and forced a timeout less than two minutes in. The second 3 pushed the spread to 15-2. But the early lead quickly disappeared, as Ole Miss settled down and embarked on a 13-3 run from there. Moody bookended the surge with long 3-pointers, and the Rebels were within three. Moody hit two more 3s on back-to-back possessions before the 7:00 mark to give Ole Miss a four-point lead. The spread reached six on Aaron Jones reverse slam at 3:30, and the Wildcats trailed at halftime for just the second time this season. They responded with seven straight to open the second half and climb back in front. Whites corner 3 with 1:36 to play tied the game at 75, and Summers made two free throws 30 seconds later to put the visitors back in the lead. After Aaron Harrison missed a jumper and Ole Miss secured the rebound, Kentuckys fullcourt pressure forced a key turnover. Andrew Harrison came up with the ball and drew a foul on Sebastian Saiz -- his fifth -- and made 1-of-2 to tie it at 77. On the final possession of regulation, Summers isolated on Devin Booker at the top of the key and settled for an NBA-range 3, hitting back rim as the clock expired. Game Notes Kentucky has won the last five meetings ... Kentucky is 32-2 in its last 34 games as the No. 1 team in the country ... Ole Miss fell to 0-16 all-time against No. 1 teams ... Booker scored 13 points for Kentucky. ' ' '