Thunder edge Rockets to get back into playoff series
Harden’s final shot misses mark to open door
OKLAHOMA CITY — James Harden had poured in points from the 3-point line to the rim. He had kept the Rockets in the game. He had tied it in the last minute and had one last shot to win it.
He headed up the floor as the final seconds ticked away with no interest in taking the final time out and nearly as little in trying a drive to overtime.
He had the ball, the game and probably the series in his hands. He went for it all.
Harden launched his final 3-pointer in the last seconds, but caught the front of the rim. After all the times the Rockets had seemed defeated on Friday, they finally were, with the Thunder holding on, 115-113, to close the Rockets’ lead in their firstround series to 2-1.
“I thought they were great looks,” Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said. “They were a little bit off. I thought it was a great game all around.”
Harden had scored 44 points, becoming the first player since Michael Jordan in 1990 to open
the playoffs with three consecutive games scoring at least 35 points. He had brought the Rockets back to tie the game when he nailed a 3-pointer with 52.7 seconds left.
Oklahoma City star Russell Westbrook left the door open, missing three free throws in the final 66 seconds. With the Rockets misfiring from deep all night, Harden went for the win.
The Rockets could never get their usual 3-point shooting going, making just 10 of 35, 4 of 21 in the second half. The Rockets had just 10 assists, with three in the second half. But that was in large part a credit to the Thunder defense to contest all 3s and the Rockets inability to make the open looks they got.
“I thought Ryan (Anderson) had a bunch of looks,” D’Antoni said. “Pat (Beverley) had a bunch of looks. Eric (Gordon) had good looks. We took 35 (3s). We had five they rushed at us. For the most part they were pretty good looks.
“When we shoot 10 of 35, a lot of those (potential) assists are missed shots. That’s a little bit, a little bit that they switched and we tried to go to the basket and finish. James obviously finished and got to the foul line. I think it’s as simple as that.”
Westbrook led the Thunder with 32 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists, but struggled late to give the Rockets a last chance.
“They bring the whole house,” Westbrook said of the Rockets defense on him.
Harden had kept the Rockets in the game, scoring 11 third-quarter points. But the rest of the Rockets made just 5 of 16 shots in the third quarter. When Doug McDermott ended the third quarter with a 3-pointer, he not only sent the Thunder to the fourth quarter with a 93-83 lead, offered a reminder of how they got there, with all kinds of shooting around Westbrook that the Rockets had not matched.
When Harden returned with eight minutes left, the Thunder still led by 10 and the Rockets 3-point shooting had nearly entirely abandoned them. With five minutes left, the Thunder still had a 10-point cushion and the Rockets had made just 2 of 15 3s in the second half.
The Rockets had another run in them. Harden sank his third 3 of the night. Gordon and Anderson finished drives. With the Thunder doing everything necessary to take away the Rockets 3s, the Rockets had rallied by getting to the rim. They even had a wide-open look on a break to tie the game, but Gordon missed his 3, as the Rockets continued to search for another way.
Though Ryan Anderson bounced back from his shooting struggles in Houston to make 8 of 14 shots and score 18 points and Lou Williams had his career-playoff high of 22 points for the second consecutive game, the Rockets did not get much of their usual shooting. Trevor Ariza, Beverley and Gordon combined to make 1 of 12 3s.
“We got it going in the second half, made a run and got good looks to win the game,” Beverley said. “That doesn’t change our mindset.
“We’ll try to come in and get a win on Sunday and try to finish this thing the right way.
“We responded well. Took the lead in the second half. Tie game and (Steven) Adams gets a tip in over the back of Trevor. It’s all right.
“It’s one game. We have to respond. We will respond.”