Two of the league's better teams squared off on Thursday as the Houston Rockets took down the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder, 118 - 116. Former teammates and MVP hopefuls James Harden and Russell Westbrook showed down in a battle of the league's top talent. Houston (28 - 9) has been one of the league's hottest teams after a mediocre start. The Rockets won 15 games in the month of December and have seen strong leadership from superstar combo guard James Harden. Harden led the team in both scoring and assists on Thursday, pouring in 26 points to go with 12 assists and eight rebounds. The team saw a strong 27 assists and turned it over just nine times on the night. The Rockets also shot an excellent 48 percent from the field and hit 15 three - pointers. Sixth man Eric Gordon, the league's leading three - point shooter, had five threes. OKC (21 - 16) dropped the game despite seeing 49 points from Russell Westbrook. Westbrook shot 16 - of - 34 and had eight three - pointers while playing an integral part in the Thunder's 33 - 21 fourth quarter that allowed them to remain in the game. The team crashed the boards with tenacity, recording 54 rebounds on the night to Houston's 43. However, the Thunder shot a slightly lower 45 percent and had only 12 shots from beyond the arc. The Rockets will visit Orlando on Friday while OKC will host the Nuggets on Saturday.
["TeamStat(G,'Rockets') has 48 Percentage of field goals ,has 9 Losses ,has 118 Total points ,has 21 Points in 4th quarter ,has 43 Rebounds ,has 28 Wins ."
 "TeamStat(G,'Thunder') has 45 Percentage of field goals ,has 116 Losses ,has 33 Total points ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Russell Westbrook') has 8 Assists ,has 34 Defensive rebounds ,has 16 3-pointers made ,has 49 Field goals attempted ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'James Harden') has 12 Assists ,has 26 Defensive rebounds ,has 8 3-pointers made ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Eric Gordon') has 5 Assists ,has 5 Defensive rebounds ,has 5 3-pointers made ."]