Thunder close out Rockets HOUSTON -- For the Oklahoma City Thunder, this first step without Russell Westbrook was the toughest, the most trying, the most taxing. On the fly, the Thunder had to readjust and completely alter what they were all while fending off the eighth-seeded Houston Rockets, whose burgeoning confidence swelled with each passing quarter of each game.

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook had surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee and will not return in the current NBA post-season, the team said Saturday. The Thunder initially had said Westbrook would be out "indefinitely" after he was hurt in game two of Oklahoma City's Western Conference first-round series against the Houston Rockets -- not completey ruling out a return late in the playoffs.

Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook each scored 29 points to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder over Houston 105-102 Wednesday for a 2-0 lead in their first-round NBA playoff series. The Thunder squandered a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter as Houston, playing without Asian American star Jeremy Lin because of a third-quarter muscle bruise, rallied with a 21-2 run for four-point lead in the late going.

The Oklahoma City Thunder clinched home court advantage throughout the Western Conference playoffs by beating Sacramento 104-95 Monday behind a 29-point effort from Kevin Durant. "We were just trying to get some deflections and use our length a little bit to get out and score," Durant said. "I think we did a good job of finishing." Durant also had eight assists and seven rebounds for the Thunder who scored 62 points in the paint compared to just 46 for the Kings in front of a crowd of 18,203 at Chesapeake Energy Arena.