Thunder Survive Rockets' Late Onslaught 105-102 In Game 2; Take 2-0 Lead In Series - NBA Playoffs 2013

Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook each scored 29 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder eked out a 105-102 victory over the Houston Rockets in Game 2 of their Western Conference first-round playoff series at Chesapeake Energy Arena on Wednesday.

The Thunder captured a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven slugfest with the Rockets, though they have to come up with clutch baskets late to preserve the win.

Unlike their easy blowout win on Sunday's series opener, the Thunder were pushed to the limit by the Rockets this time around.

Leaning behind a hot-shooting James Harden and surprising play by rookie guard Patrick Beverly, the Rockets went toe-to-toe with the top-seed Thunder up to the final second of the game.

Harden, who was suffocated by the Thunder defense in Game 1, delivered 36 points, 11 rebounds and 6 dimes in his second playoff game against his former team. Substituting for under-performing Jeremy Lin, Beverly racked up a double-double off the bench with 16 points and 12 rebounds.

With their bigmen more active in rebounding, the Rockets managed to keep within striking distance throughout the game. Then, when the Thunder were about to pull away with a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter, the Rockets scored 19 unanswered points to take a 95-91 advantage with 3:27 left in the game.

But the Thunder just won't be denied as they closed the final three minutes with stingy defense and big baskets. Durant buried a long trey to help the Rockets take back the lead at 98-97 and found Serge Ibaka for a game-clinching jumper with 31 second left.

The Thunder shot 43.5 percent from the field and made 83 percent of their free-throws. On the other hand, the Rockets just shot 39 percent and turned the ball over 16 times.

The Thunder-Rockets series shifts to Houston on Saturday for Game 3 at the Toyota Center.