The players credit defense for pulling out the stops during crunch time.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The bright side was easy to see. Buzzer-beating victories tend to shine a light on the positives.
The Rockets might have struggled along the way Wednesday night in Philadelphia. They needed everything to go right for the final three minutes. But for the second time in the season’s first five games, they were on the right side of the final buzzer to escape with the win. They did not complain about the details.
“We found a way to win and kind of stole it down the stretch,” Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said. “But guys came up with big plays on defense, big plays on offense. Sometimes, that’s what it takes. I thought the defense getting the stops when we needed them was huge.”
As much as the Rockets would like to get their offense in gear and back to last season’s standards, they believe they will, making their ability to win without it as more of a good sign than the offensive struggles could be considered troublesome.
The Rockets had rallied from down 17 points to beat Golden State in the season opener. They trailed the 76ers by 11, and by eight with 3:05 left. Yet, as with the win in Oakland, the Rockets’ defense was its best when only that would do.
‘Grinded through it’
The Rockets outscored the Warriors 11-3 in the final 3:50. They outscored the 76ers 9-0 in the final 3:05, capped by Eric Gordon’s game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer. After both games, they cited their play on the defensive end for getting them through the rough spots.
“I feel like we did it at Golden State, kind of grinded through it,” forward Ryan Anderson said. “We got stops when we needed to. We kind of held strong, stuck to our game plan. We knew we could be successful if we got stops and ran. Obviously, when we get stops and push, we’re at our best.
“You can never count us out. We won a game in Minnesota last year, we were down by (17). We battled our way back. We’re resilient.
We’re going to fight. We’re going to hit big shots. When you take a lot of 3s and make a lot of 3s, the deficit is going to cut down.”
The Rockets mounted the comeback against the Timberwolves last season with Anderson and Trevor Ariza hitting a pair of 3-pointers and James Harden sinking another in the final three minutes. They have not been nearly as prolific early this season, ranking 29th in 3-point shooting, ahead of only the winless Knicks.
They moved to 4-1 in part because their defense has improved enough to keep them in games. Though they rank 14th defensively, allowing 102.9 points per 100 possessions, their defense has been put in difficult situations by all the missed 3s and turnovers, offensive failings the Rockets believe they will repair.
“That’s what we have this year that we can get to,” D’Antoni said of the defensive mettle late in Wednesday’s win. “We have lineups that can switch and guard and be tough at the same time. During the game at dif-ferent times, we slowed them down or stopped them.
“Our offense is not good yet. It’s still very uneven. Chris Paul is obviously going to help that when he gets back. But in the meantime, I think we’re working on things that are going to make us a better team in the long run and help us get a chance to go further in the playoffs because of our defense. We have guys that are just tough.”
Tough tests ahead
D’Antoni said Paul’s sore left knee will be re-examined next week in Houston after Paul and Ariza miss the remaining two games of the trip. Those will be tough tests of the shaky offense, with the Rockets facing the Charlotte Hornets on Friday and the Grizzlies, who shut down the Rockets in Houston on Monday, a night later in Memphis.
Shorthanded, the Rockets are 4-1 coming off the sort of win they said could spark them.
“Eric did a great job doing what he had to do,” D’Antoni said. “Again, it comes down to luck. We were fortunate against Golden State. They didn’t shoot it quick enough (on Kevin Durant’s put-back attempt for the win.) We shot at the right time (against Philadelphia). It’s one game out of 82. But it’s a fun game.”