Harden rides to rescue in waning moments
Coast-to-coast run for game-defining layup adds to D’Antoni’s enthusiastic appreciation
Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni was not about to call a timeout, and did not spend even a few heartbeats to consider it.
If he had, it would have been too late.
James Harden was gone, flying the other way with 90 feet of court to cover and seconds to get there.
The Nuggets’ Jameer Nelson had airballed his 3-pointer to all but clinch a win, with his miss landing in Harden’s grasp with 6.9 seconds remaining. Harden took off, covering the length of the court in 4.5 seconds before his layup lifted the Rockets past the Denver Nuggets 125-124 in a stunning blur of a drive Monday night.
Asked if he reached John Wall speeds, Harden, sounding surprised himself, said: “I was running so fast. I feel like I was faster than ( John Wall).
“I felt like Usain Bolt.” Until then, the Nuggets had answered everything the Rockets threw at them, from the early 13-point lead to the six 3-pointers the Rockets knocked down in
their fourth-quarter comeback.
The Rockets had held them to 105 points in Denver on Saturday, but the Nuggets missed 18 layups and 11 free throws. They were not about to leave so many points unclaimed in the rematch.
“Since December they’ve been I guess the No. 1 offensive team in the league so we know they can score a lot of points,” Rockets
forward Trevor Ariza said. “It was about getting stops and at the end, we were able to do that.”
Even after Harden’s drive to the lead with 2.4 seconds remaining, the Rockets needed to get one more stop, calling on Harden again.
The Nuggets came out of a timeout with Mason Plumlee rolling to the rim to take a pass from Nikola Jokic.
The Rockets switched as they had through much of the game and as the Nuggets expected when Michael Malone drew up his final play. But Harden batted away the pass for his fourth steal of the night.
Jordan-esque stats
Those steals combined with his 39 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds gave Harden his third game in the past two seasons with those numbers, statistics no one has reached three times since Michael Jordan.
“What he’s doing is unbelievable,” Ariza said. “It’s fun to be a part of and to watch.
“We need him to do those things. He’s playing like the league’s MVP. We go as he goes.”
In his past nine games, Harden is averaging 33.6 points on 50 percent shooting.
But in some ways, the final basket was set up by the layup he missed.
The Rockets had gotten the scoring they needed to keep pace with the Nuggets, with Eric Gordon scoring eight of his 18 points in the fourth quarter and Pat Beverley adding six.
Harden had put the Rockets up five with 1:28 remaining with his fourth 3-pointer of the night, but Will Barton knocked down a 3, and after a Nene turnover, Barton converted a three-point play for the lead with 42.1 seconds left.
Harden had been attacking the Nuggets’ defense, as he had in Denver on Saturday, and once again beat the Nuggets off the dribble, but he missed his layup with 31.9 seconds remaining.
Plan of attack
When he did, Harden immediately waved his arms, instructing teammates not to foul to try to get the defensive stop.
When they did, he did not hesitate.
“I knew when I missed the layup the first time, there was like a seven- or eight-second differential,” Harden said. “When he airballed and I grabbed the rebound, just put my head down and I went.
“I was going to get to the basket. Once I saw ( Juan) Hernangomez try to figure out where I was going and I saw Jokic, I knew there was no big down there.
“When I got to the 3-point line, I finally looked up and I just saw a lane and I saw the rim and knew I was going to get there.”
When he did, he had done whatever necessary to get the victory and might have added an example of his worthiness to be named the MVP.
Opinion that matters
“I don’t know how many examples you need,” D’Antoni said. “He gives you an example every night. If something’s better out there, I’ve never seen it and I’ve been around. I’m old and I’ve been around and never seen anything better.”