HOUSTON -- The Houston Rockets are heading to the playoffs for the second straight year and believe wins like the one they picked up Friday night will help them when they get there. James Harden scored 39 points and the Rockets ended a three-game skid and clinched a playoff berth with a 111-107 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder "It was a great win for us ... just to give ourselves confidence, especially going into the playoffs," Harden said. "We might see them. It was a big win for us. It shows the resilience we have." Kevin Durant scored 28 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for his 40th straight game with at least 25 points, the longest streak since Michael Jordan also did it 40 consecutive times in 1986-87. But he was in no mood to talk about matching the feat after the game. "We lost the game thats all Im worried about," he said. "I dont care. We lost." The normally mild-mannered Durant, who leads the NBA with 32.1 points a game, talked a little trash afterward when asked if he was frustrated by the physical defence Houstons Chandler Parsons and Francisco Garcia played on him. "Those dudes cant check me 1-on-1," he said. "They know that. I aint afraid to say it either. They know that. So I was playing the double-teams, triple-teams, but you still got to find a way to do it. Theyre physical just like everybody else and Ive been playing against physical players my whole life, so its nothing different." The Thunder, who had already secured a playoff berth, clinched their fourth consecutive Northwest Division title with a loss by Portland later Friday. Durants 3-pointer cut Houstons lead to one with 1:01 remaining, but Houston answered with four straight free throws. He made another 3 with 16 seconds left, but Harden made two free throws to push the lead to 111-107. Harden was 17 of 20 from the line and had nine rebounds and seven assists. The Rockets were playing without Dwight Howard and Patrick Beverley, who both missed their fourth straight games. Howard has missed seven games recently because of a left ankle strain and Beverley is out indefinitely with a torn meniscus in his right knee. "Theres all kind of adversity in playoff games and playoff runs," coach Kevin McHale said. "Youve got to be resilient and thats what Ive been preaching with the guys and the coaching staff. Youve just got to stay in the fight and keep swinging. When we do that, were OK." Serge Ibaka tied a career high with 27 points in a game that Russell Westbrook didnt play because the Thunder were playing the second night of a back-to-back. Parsons added 23 points for Houston and Terrence Jones had 16 points and 11 rebounds. Oklahoma City was up by one before Houston scored seven straight points to take a 104-98 lead with less than three minutes left. The Rockets made four free throws before a 3-pointer by Garcia. The Rockets started the fourth quarter with 3-pointers by Jeremy Lin, Isaiah Canaan and Harden for a 9-2 spurt which gave them a 91-86 lead with about 10 minutes left. Durant scored the next four points to get Oklahoma City within 91-90. Houston scored the last six points of the third quarter to cut the lead to 84-82 entering the fourth quarter. The Thunder scored 39 points in the third quarter to take the lead after trailing the entire game. They opened the second half with a 9-0 run punctuated by a dunk by Ibaka to make it 54-52. Houston went right back on top with a 3-pointer by Parsons, but a 9-2 spurt by the Thunder gave them a 63-57 lead with about seven minutes left in the quarter. The Thunder trailed through the first quarter and cut it to three points early in the second quarter on a 3-pointer by Caron Butler before an 11-0 run by Houston pushed the lead to 43-29 about five minutes before halftime. Harden scored the last seven points in that span and capped it by making a 3-pointer with Derek Fisher right in his face. Durant scored Oklahoma Citys final five points to get the Thunder within 50-45 at halftime. The first three points of that run came when Durant was fouled on an off-balance layup he made with his back to the basket and then made the free throw. NOTES: The 39 points the Thunder scored in the third quarter were the most anyone has scored against Houston this season in the quarter. ... Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon watched the game from a courtside seat. ... The win was Houstons 50th, giving them the 10th 50-win season in franchise history. Green Bay Packers Store . The bout served as the headlining matchup of Saturdays "UFC Fight Night: Brown vs. Silva" event, which took place at U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati. It was Silva who looked well on his way to victory in the early going, delivering a pair of crushing kicks to the body that sent Brown crashing to the floor, doubled over in pain. Green Bay Packers Gear . Hes even holding a bat on one of his 2014 baseball cards. So far, hes playing like his picture. https://www.packersjerseysale.com/. -- Without Carey Price, the run for a first Stanley Cup in 21 years got steeper and longer for the Montreal Canadiens. Green Bay Packers Pro Shop . Jamies number grades given are out of five, with five being the best mark. Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles Kings (3) - Early goal against was on the power play. Stitched Packers Jerseys . JOHNS, N.Brooklyn, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - Deron Williams had 17 points and nine assists as the Brooklyn Nets routed the Oklahoma City Thunder 116-85 on Monday night. Brook Lopez posted 18 points and six rebounds in his first game since last December due to a foot injury and Alan Anderson netted 18 points off the bench for the Nets, who have won two straight since a season-opening loss at Boston. We want to protect home court and we did a good job tonight, Williams said. Reggie Jackson, who didnt play in his first three games due to a wrist injury, tallied 23 points and five assists, but turned the ball over seven times for Oklahoma City, which is off to a 1-3 start without reigning MVP Kevin Durant. All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook has missed the last two games with a broken right hand. We did a lot of good things in the first three games, and we didnt do them tonight, Thunder head coach Scott Brooks said. Perry Jones, who is shooting 25-of-47 from the floor since going 1-of-9 in the season opener at Portland Wednesday, finished with 16 points.dddddddddddd Steven Adams hook shot gave the Thunder a quick 6-5 edge, but the Nets responded with 21-4 run and never looked back. Joe Johnson poured in eight points during the surge, including a pair of 3- pointers, and Jarrett Jacks pull-up jumper staked Brooklyn to a 26-10 advantage. The Nets led 32-19 after one and knocked down seven of their first 10 triples en route to a 42-21 cushion. Mason Plumlee threw down an alley-oop pass from Bojan Bogdanovic right before the first-half buzzer to make it 59-40 heading into the break. Brooklyn took an 85-62 margin into the fourth and led by as many as 35 in the final frame en route to the easy triumph. Game Notes Brooklyn netted 21 points off 18 Oklahoma City turnovers and committed just eight giveaways ... The Nets shot 52.4 percent (44-of-84) from the floor and 47.8 percent (11-of-23) from beyond the arc. ' ' '