James Harden's 19 lead Houston past OKC with both cold from field

OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Houston Rockets prepared for Monday night's showdown with the gritty Memphis Grizzlies with one of the NBA's ugliest games in years.

James Harden scored 19 points, and the Rockets beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 69-65 on Sunday night.

The last time a team won with 69 or fewer points was Detroit's 64-62 victory over Utah on March 13, 2005, according to STATS. Both teams shot below 30 percent from the field -- the last time that happened was Oct. 29, 2003, when Denver beat San Antonio 80-72.


Houston shot just 28.8 percent. The last time an NBA team won with a lower percentage was on Feb. 19, 2000, when Chicago shot 28.6 percent and beat the Los Angeles Clippers 74-72.

"That game will not go in the NBA Hall of Fame," Rockets coach Kevin McHale said.

Houston escaped, and now, the Rockets travel to Memphis for a matchup of 9-1 teams that share the NBA's best record.