NBA schedule and results: James Harden leads Rockets past Thunder

The Rockets jumped out to a 7-0 lead and led 17-11 midway through the first quarter, but then the Thunder started doing what everyone else has done to the Rockets this season -- began outplaying them. Oklahoma City went on a 15-4 run to take a five-point lead heading into the second quarter and extended their lead to eight at the half.

The lead ballooned to 15 and leading by 14 with 9:24 to play in the third quarter, Westbrook picked up his fourth foul. A little bit of hope was all the Rockets needed. They went on a 25-8 run over the final 9:24 of the quarter to take a three-point lead into the fourth.

Noted good basketball player Steph Curry continues to destroy any and everything in his path. Monday night that happened to be the Memphis Grizzlies.

The game was probably nearly out of reach for the Grizzlies at that point, but Steph went ahead and stepped on their necks. It’s starting to get scary.

This isn’t the first time Kevin Durant has been without a shoe. He once blocked Arron Afflalo’s shot, you guessed it ... without a shoe.

And if you ever find yourself in a sports situation without a shoe, please read our guide to what athletes should do when they lose a shoe

Rockets-Thunder has been a pretty tightly contested game, and this drive by Russell Westbrook was pretty tightly contested too.

Of course, the thing with Westbrook is he’s basically unstoppable, so guard him all you want but also understand that it doesn’t matter. The Thunder are back to being a lot of fun, and we’re really excited about it.

It turns out someone thought it would be a good idea to relish the opportunity and throw a partially eaten pickle on the court. The officials were all over it, then brought out a towel bowl to clean up the court. They are used to wiping up sweat and even blood occasionally, but that’s probably the first time they’ve had to mop up some pickle juice.

Barclays Center has officially cemented its place as home of the weirdest in-game delays. A rain delay was one thing. A pickle delay is going to be hard to top.

Duncan, now 39, was drafted by the Spurs No. 1 overall in 1997. This is his 19th season in San Antonio, and he’s never played less than 66 games in a season, or won less than 50 games in a year (not including the lockout-shortened seasons of 1999 and 2012).

Duncan has led the Spurs to an NBA championship five times, and is a 15-time All Star and three-time MVP.

The tribute also featured players speaking on what Flip meant to them:

As well as the video tributes, the Timberwolves also debuted their new uniforms that will honor Flip throughout the season.