Rockets, Jazz near semis duel
MINNEAPOLIS – Though James Harden and most of the Houston Rockets were misfiring throughout the first half, their confidence never wavered.
In the third quarter, those sharpshooters sure came to life.
Harden had 22 of the team’s nearrecord 50 points in the third, launching the Rockets past the Minnesota Timberwolves, 119-100, on Monday night to take a 3-1 lead in their firstround playoff series.
“We had the mentality to be aggressive, make or missed shots,” said Harden, who went 7 for 10 in the third quarter and finished with 36 points. “That’s what we do. We shoot the basketball, and eventually they’ll start falling.”
Chris Paul scored 15 of his 25 points in the near-record third for the Rockets, who still had a 50-49 halftime edge despite their rough start. With those torrid 12 minutes, they built a 31-point lead and were up 104-69 about a minute into the fourth. The only team in the history of the NBA playoffs with more points in one quarter was the Los Angeles Lakers, who scored 51 points in the fourth on March 31, 1962, in a loss to the Detroit Pistons.
“It was a good time to do it. We’ve been talking about it for two years, putting the 50-piece up,” Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said. “And that starts with the intensity and the right spirit and everything.”
Clint Capela added 14 points and 17 rebounds, Eric Gordon finally got going with 18 points off the bench and the Rockets left the Wolves wondering what hit them after 3-1/2 games of decent defense against one of the league’s most dangerous offensive teams. The Rockets scored on 11 straight possessions after an opening stop by the Wolves, and Harden alone scored 17 of their first 20 points.
“I’ve got to watch it again,” Paul said. “We just, I don’t know, got hot.”
In Salt Lake City, Donovan Mitchell scored 33 points and collected seven rebounds to lead the Utah Jazz to a 113-96 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Jazz also moved closer to a second round clash with the Rockets.
Joe Ingles scored 20 points while Rudy Gobert added 16 points and 10 rebounds. Ricky Rubio chipped in 13 points, eight assists and six boards. Utah takes a 3-1 series lead back to Oklahoma City. Game 5 is on Wednesday night.
Paul George scored 32 points and Russell Westbrook added 23 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Thunder. Oklahoma City lost its third straight in the series after shooting just 39 percent from the field.
“I thought we played downhill a lot more,” Thunder coach Billy Donovan said. “I thought we were at the rim a lot more. From there, we probably missed some opportunities to move the ball. I thought our ball movement was sporadic and sometimes it was very good.”
The Thunder opened up a 26-19 lead late in the first quarter when Carmelo Anthony capped a string of three straight Oklahoma City baskets with an alley-oop layup. They held onto the lead for much of the second quarter until Utah finally woke up on offense.
Starting with Rudy Gobert cutting to the rim for a dunk with 3:45 left in the second quarter, the Jazz scored on 11 straight offensive possessions to blow the game wide open. Ingles fueled the surge by hitting three straight 3-pointers to put Utah in front 58-52 before halftime.