Rockets defeat Mavs for 8th straight win
Though not at their best, Harden & Co. win 8th straight
As far as signs of excellence go, the Rockets liked the other kind. They enjoyed closing out the Spurs in San Antonio, romping past the Cavaliers in Cleveland, defeating fatigue and the Heat in Miami.
Their 104-97 will-have-to-do victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday wasn’t celebrated and won’t be cherished. But the Rockets’ eighth consecutive win also spoke volumes about their status in the NBA’s upper echelon.
Though far from their best in a performance that coach Mike D’Antoni fairly labeled “a stinker,” the Rockets were never challenged, never threatened. They could not clear their bench first. The Mavericks did that when the charter from Dallas went wheels up and Dirk Nowitzki, Wesley Matthews and J.J. Barea weren’t on it. But the Rockets led by double digits for most of the fourth quarter until the Mavericks dropped in a pair of last-minute 3s.
“Counts as much as beating San Antonio or somebody like that,” D’Antoni said. “A win is a win. That’s the way I look at it. Obviously, we didn’t play great. They played with a lot of energy. Our guys … just worked our way to a win, and that’s about all you can say. We didn’t really play particularly well, but can’t really
fault them too much.”
The Rockets never found their rhythm offensively, going the entire fourth quarter without making consecutive baskets as they scored just 17 points, a 3-pointer more than the fewest they have scored in a fourth quarter this season. But after a flat-footed second quarter, when the Rockets allowed more second-chance points than they typically allow in a game, their defense took over against what was left of the Mavs.
“Me and James (Harden) talked about it at halftime — just try to pick it up a little bit,” Rockets guard Chris Paul said. “They play hard. In the second half, we just locked in a little bit more.
“It happens over the course of a season. It’s not going to be pretty every night. We’ve just got to grind it out and win.”
The Mavericks had just 36 second-half points before those two late 3s on the way off the floor, making just 40.9 percent of their shots. The Rockets have held six of their last 13 opponents shy of 100 points, moving to 19-2 when opponents fail to score 100.
“We just grinded it out,” forward Ryan Anderson said. “It wasn’t our best game, wasn’t our flashiest offensive game. We held them under 100 … which is our goal. We did a good job in the way we had to in a grind-it-out game.”
The regulars could not knock off early because the Rockets did not shoot well enough to pull away. But they defended well enough to never be threatened. The Mavericks’ largest lead was one point, 90 seconds into the game.
“We knew that it would be that kind of game, so I think we did pretty well. Because those are the games that you just let the team come back, and sometimes you lose, or it goes to overtime,” said Rockets center Clint Capela, who had 16 points and 11 rebounds for his 28th double-double. “So I think we did a pretty good job by staying focused until the end, and this is why we win.”
The Rockets had to keep Harden on the floor for 34 minutes, Paul for 35. They combined for 52 points, with Paul getting nine assists and eight rebounds. But neither seemed any more pleased than discouraged by the Rockets’ having to trudge to a win.
If anything, the reaction of the teams demonstrated as much about the direc- tions they are heading than anything that happened on the floor.
“I loved everything about it,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said, presumably though not necessarily including the loss. “The compete level was excellent. We battled the whole way. I loved (Dennis) Smith’s game. The balance between scoring and playmaking was excellent. It’s a lot to ask to come in here and win the game. But to basically compete the whole way and hang around and make them play the whole game was good.”
The Rockets were less cheerful but did what they wanted — enough to get the win and keep moving.
“Every once in a while, a stinker comes out,” D’Antoni said. “It just happens. Definitely take it.”