The end of their season brought disappointment for the Houston Rockets. And hope.

After being ousted by the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night, the young Rockets were encouraged by what they accomplished this season.

"We've got a lot of young guys that work hard and want to win," James Harden said. "So the sky's the limit for us."

Kevin Durant scored 27 points and Kevin Martin added 25 to lead the Thunder to a 103-94 victory over the Rockets, sending them to the second round of the playoffs for the third straight season.

The Rockets were looking to become just the fourth team in NBA history to force a Game 7 after trailing 3-0. But the Thunder opened the fourth quarter with a big run to take the lead and cruised to the victory.

"I think we've got something really special here," Houston's Chandler Parsons said. "We've got a whole bunch of young, humble guys that work hard. We've got nothing to hang our heads about."

Houston coach Kevin McHale was impressed with the growth of his team through the season.

"It's been a long year for me personally," said McHale, who took a leave early this season after the death of his 23-year-old daughter Sasha. "They fought hard for me every night. We didn't always play the smartest or the cleanest, but ... there was a only a handful of games where I felt like we didn't battle. That's impressive."

Associated Press

(China Daily 05/05/2013 page7)