LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Oklahoma missed some shots they normally make and committed some head-scratching turnovers in the first half against Tulane on Thursday night.The next thing the Sooners knew, they were in a heck of a game.Oklahoma corrected many of its early mistakes in the final 20 minutes to run away with an 89-70 win over the Green Wave during the first round of the Tire Pros Invitational. The Sooners advanced in the winners bracket where they will meet Northern Iowa in the late game Friday night.We just played smarter in the second half, said Oklahoma senior guard Jordan Woodard, who led his team with 22 points, seven assists and four steals. We started playing our game.We let them dictate a little bit in the first half. They are a good ball club and so are we. We just had to take it to another level in the second half and keep advancing.After clinging to a 38-35 halftime advantage, the Sooners (2-0) came out much more aggressive early in the second half and quickly built a double-digit lead. Rahsard Odomes (15 points) and Woodard let the way in the final 20 minutes with a combined 24 points, but it was some the young players who made timely contributions to keep the attacking Green Wave (1-2) from making a comeback.Freshman forward Kristian Doolittle was a force inside, scoring eight points while leading the charge on the offensive boards where he pulled five of his game-high 12 rebounds. Freshmen Matt Freeman and Jordan Shepherd also both had key contributions, which is what the Sooners needed after losing three senior captains off of last seasons team.We had a lot of young lineups out there tonight on many occasions, said OU coach Lon Kruger. This is going to be a club where individually you will see more people get comfortable with each game.BIG PICTURETulane: The Green Wave are athletic and can make it difficult on teams with their quickness to the paint and 3-point shooting. Ray Ona Embo was sometimes brilliant in his ability to break defenders down and either penetrate or pull up for a jumper on the perimeter.Oklahoma: Facing their toughest competition so far this season, the young Sooners showed plenty of resolve in overcoming an aggressive shooting Tulane team. Woodard and Odomes made most of the big shots during the critical second-half run but Shepherd and Doolittle also contributed key points to help the Sooners pull away in the second half.KEY STATSTulane, which had led by as many as four points in the first half, gave up 21 points off of turnovers and allowed Oklahoma to score 15 points on second-chance shots.So 36 of their points come in that manner, Tulane coach Mike Dunleavy said. Its a quick turnaround and we have to do better in that space.YOUNG GUNSSo much has been made out of how young the Sooners will be this season after losing three talented seniors of last years team.But Woodard says he likes what he is seeing out of all of them so far.Each game is a learning experience, Woodard said. We have guys who are not afraid to step up to the challenge and take ownership of the team and Coach is going to put us in good spots to be successful.UP NEXTTulane: The Green Wave will face Arizona State in the second round of the Tire Pros Invitational on Friday night.Oklahoma: The Sooners will take on Northern Iowa in the second round of the invite on Friday night. Air Max 270 Doernbecher . Hazard cut in from the left and scored with a swerving right-footed shot for ninth goal of the season, which proved to be enough for the victory despite Chelseas forwards again lacking a cutting edge up front. Air Max 270 Flyknit Clear Emerald . 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OKLAHOMA CITY -- After starting the season with a 6-1 record, the Oklahoma City Thunder were being looked at as the surprise team in the NBA. A week later, the Thunder are in a tailspin, riding a four-game losing streak.That is the situation that awaits the Thunder (6-5) when they play host to the Houston Rockets (6-4) on Wednesday night at the Chesapeake Energy Arena.The latest loss came Monday night when Thunder traveled to Detroit on the second night of a back-to-back. Near the end of the first quarter and the start of the second, Oklahoma City allowed the Pistons to go on a 23-6 run. It was an uphill battle from that point on, and Detroit emerged with a 104-88 victory.Defensively we started with really good energy, Thunder coach Billy Donovan said. In fairness to our guys, you can always expect on a back-to-back that youre going to be a bit leg weary. Generally thats going to affect your offense. Sometimes on back-to-backs you cant put stock or onus on having a great offensive output, but you have to hang your hat on your defense.Oklahoma Citys defense is getting precipitately worse, but it hasnt just been against teams such as the Golden State Warriors or Los Angeles Clippers.The Thunders last two defeats came at the hands of the Orlando Magic and Detroit, clubs that rank in the bottom seven in the NBA in scoring. Each team managed to score over a 100 against the Thunder.Were one of the top teams in the league when we play defensively, Thunder guard Russell Westbrook told The Oklahoman. So Im not really worried about whos playing and whos not.Having issues with defense, however, is not a good problem to have with the Rockets in town. Houston is 10th in the league in scoring at 107.8 points per game and fifth in 3-point shooting at 37 percent.Houston has noot had a problem putting up points this season.dddddddddddd The Rockets are coming off a 115-88 plastering of the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday.I thought they came out with the right intensity, they came out the way they should have, Rockets coach Mike DAntoni said. We talked about it and came out in the second half the way we should have. That way we got some good rest. I saw a lot of good things.The Rockets might get even stronger Wednesday with the possible return of guard Patrick Beverley, who has been out since the preseason after undergoing left knee surgery.Beverley and the Thunder have a history that goes back to when he crashed into Westbrooks knee during the 2013 postseason. Westbrook ended up with a torn meniscus that cost him the rest of the postseason. Thunder fans catapulted Beverley to the top of their most hated list, which he has held onto since then.Against the 76ers, Rockets guard James Harden posted 33 points, seven rebounds and nine assists. He is now one of only three players in history to average at least 30 points and 10 assists through 10 games. Harden was also named Western Conference Player of the Week.However, Harden seems to be more focused on making sure his team plays the right way.Were getting better game by game, and defensively were getting better and offensively has been better, too, Harden told ESPN.com. We take it one game at a time. These next three games will be extremely tough; well be all right as long as we continue to do the things weve been working on.Asked his assessment of the Thunder in the wake of Kevin Durant exit in free agency, Harden said, Its Russ. Its Russ, and its a one-man show. ' ' '
