HOUSTON – The initial defense was solid. Play after play the Thunder forced Houston guard James Harden to pound the ball into the floor before he or a teammate hoisted a shot from the perimeter. For a team coming into the game as one of the NBA’s best on the glass, the rest of the defensive possession should have been as easy going down as milk and cookies.
On Christmas Day though, as Head Coach Billy Donovan feared was coming over the past week, the Thunder had a disjointed night on the defensive boards and that made all the difference in a 113-109 loss to the Rockets.