"Rookie guard James Harden returned Wednesday night after being sidelined six games by a strained right hamstring. Receiving a loud ovation when he entered the game late in the first quarter, Harden wasted no time in making an impact, scoring 13 consecutive Thunder points.

The Thunder's fourth-leading scorer (10.1), Harden leads the nine rotation players in 3-point field goal percentage (37.7). He didn't miss a beat, scoring 23 points, including going 3-of-4 beyond the arc.

"It feels great to be back and to have a good game," Harden said. "Sitting out the first game was the worst, just sitting there, watching my team, having to cheer. But I kept a positive attitude about it and worked hard to get back."

MONSTER FIRST HALF

The Thunder scored 74 points the first half, the most points in a half since the team relocated from Seattle two years ago.

Oklahoma City was shooting 83.3 percent (25-of-30) midway through the second quarter to build a 58-38 lead. The Thunder shot a sizzling 70.7 percent the first half.

"We can't expect to do that game in, game out," said coach Scott Brooks. "We just want to continue to have good spacing, which we did tonight. We did a good job moving the ball. Anytime you get 30 assists in an NBA game, that's good.""