Rockets come from behind to take 2-0 series lead
Gut-check wins more impressive than routs
Now it’s time to be impressed with the Rockets.
You might have been Sunday when they destroyed the Thunder in Game 1 of their firstround playoff series, but what they did Wednesday night was far more remarkable.
With Russell Westbrook putting on a show, Oklahoma City had a new game plan and far better execution. The Rockets took everything working against them and responded in a big way.
Down by as many as 15 points, the Rockets showed grit and character to claw back and take a 2-0 series lead with a 115111 win in Game 2.
It was the biggest test the Rockets have had all season. And it couldn’t have come at a better time.
On Friday night, the postseason’s difficult road gets tougher. OKC’s Chesapeake Arena will be full of loud, passionate fans. The Thunder will be foaming at the mouth to protect home court.
Thanks to their grindit-out win Wednesday, the Rockets will be more equipped to handle it.
It’s clearer than it’s been all season: When
it’s gut-check time, the Rockets can rise.
Into the third quarter, it looked like the Rockets would board a plane to Oklahoma City with a split series, all the momentum in the opponent’s hands. Instead, they took OKC’s best shot, got up and won anyway.
“You have to be able to do that in the playoffs — to come back, to battle uphill,” Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said.
Sunday night was history. The Rockets’ Game 1 dominance over Oklahoma City didn’t remotely matter when the teams met for Game 2 at Toyota Center.
Yes, the Rockets made it look easy Sunday, picking apart the Thunder and beating them with offense, defense, rebounding and coaching. But there was no way Oklahoma City wouldn’t respond.
“We were on cruise control,” James Harden said of Game 1. “We knew it was going to get tougher. They were going to be better. It was never going to be easy.” No lying down
The Thunder had been here. Last season, Oklahoma City lost by 32 to the Spurs in Game 1 of their secondround playoff series. The Thunder won Game 2, then captured the series in six games.
This wasn’t a team that thought it was over. The Thunder weren’t booking vacations or talking about next year.
Westbrook was wide awake Wednesday night. The triple-double machine was back.
He was hot from the start and would finish the night with an MVP stat line: 51 points, 13 assists, 10 rebounds.
On the flip side, the Rockets came out flat. They were lax and not quite themselves.
So it got out of hand. Westbrook had his way. The Thunder made scoring tough for Harden. The Rockets needed someone else to catch fire and get things going.
There were moments when they seemed on the verge. Lou Williams had the hot hand off the bench — he finished with 21 points — but every time he got something going, the Thunder responded.
Down by 15 at one point, the Rockets finally started to chip away.
A stretch late in the third quarter turned the tide. It showed exactly who the Rockets are and how they can win games and make a run in this postseason.
Harden hit a 3-pointer — his first of the night. On the other end, Pat Beverley contested a shot that was missed. Trevor Ariza grabbed the rebound. Then Eric Gordon scored for the Rockets. Again, the Rockets rebounded a missed Thunder shot — this time Nene got it. He passed to Harden, who found Williams, who scored.
Just like that, the Rockets had cut their deficit from 13 to six. Mutual trust
“We have a lot of guys who can step up, who can make something happen, and we trust each other to do that,” said Gordon, who finished with 22 points off the bench.
Now the Rockets take the show on the road, where the toughness displayed Wednesday will matter more. Much more.
“I don’t think we’ve done anything, yet,” Ariza said. “We just protected our home court. … The playoffs start when a team wins on the other team’s home court. That’s our mindset. We just have to continue to stay focused, stay locked in.”
They need to carry over what they started in the second half Wednesday night, when Oklahoma City had the best one-man show in the midst of a top-tier performance.
But the Rockets had something better: a full roster of players who could dig deep and find ways to win. At game’s end, a statement much bigger than Sunday’s 31-point cakewalk had been made.
The Rockets have all those things you need in the playoffs. Heart, determination, grit.
And they have a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.