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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. 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Fake Soccer Jerseys .Y. - Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby captured his second career Art Ross trophy on Sunday after leading the NHL in scoring this season.PHILADELPHIA -- Another gem by Phillies starter Cole Hamels was nearly wasted again. Darin Ruf hit a solo homer in the eighth to break a 2-2 tie and lifted the Philadelphia Phillies to a 3-2 victory Sunday and three-game sweep over the Atlanta Braves. "It was a good sign for Darin to go right-centre like that," Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said. "He seems to get a lot of pitches away. Its a good sign he stayed on that one, and it was a big moment. Thats what he needs to continue to do." Hamels (7-13) made just two mistakes Sunday -- two long homers off the bat of Evan Gattis -- and they nearly cost him the win. Gattis first home run, in the second inning, travelled 480 feet to centre field. In the seventh, he tied the game with a long ball that went deep into the left-field bleachers. It was his first career multi-homer game. "Hes strong," Hamels said. "He swung with everything he had in him. I felt like I was throwing a golf ball out there and he had a driver." They were the only two hits Hamels allowed over eight innings. He struck out nine, walked two and retired the side in order four times. "He was outstanding," Sandberg said. "Its about time he got a late-inning run to get the W." Gattis almost had another home run in the fifth inning, but it died at the warning track in dead centre field with a strong wind blowing in. "I guess if the 50 mile-an-hour winds didnt keep it in play, it definitely wouldve went off the wall," Hamels said. "Or through it." B.J. Rosenberg earned his first career save with a perfect ninth inning. "He took it and ran with it," Sandberg said. "He earned the spot there today, came through big time with great stuff, pounded the strike zone with strikes." David Carpenter (3-1) took the loss for allowing Rufs homer in the eighth. Chase Utley doubled and Ruf singled to knock in the Phillies first two runs in the first inning. Utley and Ruf both finished with two hits apiece. Braves starter Paul Maholm went six innings and allowed two runs on seeven hits, three walks and a hit batter.dddddddddddd He struck out five and stranded seven Phillies baserunners. "He gave us a great opportunity to win the game," Atlanta manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "We only had two hits. We didnt do much offensively to the whole series." Two baserunning blunders by Cesar Hernandez may have cost the Phillies extra runs. He was picked off in the first inning and thrown out by Joey Terdoslavich attempting to go first to third in the fifth inning. Philadelphia squandered a chance for more runs in the sixth. After the first two men reached base via a walk and an error, Freddy Galvis grounded into a double play and Hamels struck out. B.J. Upton, who went 0 for 4, finished the series 0 for 12 with seven strikeouts. B.J. and Justin Upton are hitless in their last 32 at-bats combined. "They pitched well all three games," B.J. Upton said. "We were in all three games, it just didnt work out. ... Were fine. Well come back to play tomorrow." The Braves had just 10 hits in the series. The Phillies are 11-2 in their last 13 one-run games. "Its great to just play well in all facets of the game, pitching, defence, swinging the bats well this series too," Ruf said. "It was nice just to see what we can do when all phases of the game are clicking for us." NOTES: Atlanta LHP Scott Downs is considered day-to-day with a non-displaced fracture to the tip of his right ring finger. Down left Saturdays game after being hit on his glove hand with a line drive. ... Cole Hamels has gone at least five innings in 72 consecutive starts, the longest active streak in the majors. ... Braves OF Justin Upton, hitless in 16 at-bats entering Sunday, did not start. He entered as a pinch hitter in the eighth and struck out. ... Atlanta, which owns baseballs best home record at 51-20, is just 34-37 on the road. ... Philadelphia resumes its homestand Tuesday against the Padres with Roy Halladay (3-4, 7.19) on the mound. ... Atlanta heads Monday to Miami, where Kris Medlen (12-12, 3.48) will take the hill. ' ' '