NBA’s reigning MVP stands up and lets his actions speak loudly
The King was in town, as were many of his subjects, flashing purple and gold.
It is like this wherever LeBron James goes, but as everyone in Toyota Center was repeatedly reminded by the PA announcer, the league MVP was there, too.
If you didn’t know, James Harden is worth the price of admission.
Rockets-Lakers wasn’t strictly about the two superstars. But in the end, it was about Harden. And he dominated the fourth quarter to lead the Rockets to a 126-111 victory.
The bearded one posted a 50-point triple-double that included his making 18-of-19 free throws. Harden nailed consecutive 3-pointers from the top of the key to blow the game open and give the Rockets
the game’s first doubledigit lead.
The second trey was a particularly dramatic launch from 33 feet, with the ball bouncing high, rolling around the rim a couple times, then settling softly into the net, bringing the Rockets’ portion of the crowd to its feet.
Harden finished with 50 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds, and he outscored James 17-2 in the final period. James led the Lakers with 29 points.
This was as big a win as the Rockets have secured this season.
It isn’t surprising that this matchup involved a team battling near the top of the Western Conference standings and one trying to find its way.
The shocker is that the young Lakers were on Golden State’s tail, while the Rockets came into the game with the 14th-best record in the conference.
Studying the standings will do the Rockets little good until they can string together some victories and figure out what kind of team they will be.
They were riding a one-game “streak” built with a strong win Tuesday over Portland after a 15point comeback. Don’t mock the streak, as it were.
“We’re just trying to build on it,” Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said.
They did that Thursday, racing past the Lakers 36-23 in the fourth quarter.
The Rockets have owned one of the NBA’s marquee franchises of late, as they picked up their 21st win in 27 meetings with the Lakers.
This one would be a tussle, in which neither team held a double-digit lead until just over three minutes remained, when Harden scored nine unanswered points.
Though trade rumors are swirling, none of them is so exciting that the Rockets’ fortune will instantly turn. So, for now, this team will need to improve as is.
They showed plenty of signs of their capability Thursday.
Despite shooting just 35.7 percent (to the Lakers’ 52.9) in the first quarter, the Rockets took the early lead thanks to energy and hustle.
The Rockets had 10 offensive rebounds in the period, resulting in a whopping 15 secondchance points.
The Rockets average just 13.2 second-chance points a game and had fewer than Thursday’s firstquarter total in 16 of their first 26 games. Their 27 second-chance points Thursday were a season high.
The Rockets entered the game with an 8-3 record when they won the rebounding battle, 4-11 when they didn’t. Board work is important for this team, which has struggled defensively.
The Rockets were third in the NBA last season in defensive rebound percentage. They are 28th this season.
That is how they start their offense and how they supplement it when they aren’t shooting well.
Whatever is happening for the Rockets, Harden can always take over, as he did Thursday.
Harden and James did not disappoint early, as both got off to quick scoring starts.
Harden was off from long range (1-for-6 in the first half ), while James was awful from the foul line (0-for-4), but Harden was 5-of-6 inside the arc and James shot 8-for-10 overall.
At the half, Harden held a slight edge in points, 19-18. The Rockets were up 62-56 because Harden had some help.
Danuel House Jr., the Hightower High School graduate, who re-signed with his hometown team the week after Thanksgiving, continued to impress, matching the Lakers’ reserves by himself with 10 points off the bench in the first half.
House, who failed to stick with three other NBA teams since going undrafted out of Texas A&M in 2016, has forced his way into D’Antoni’s rotation with his fearless play. He had 15 points, including a career-high three 3-pointers, on the night.
After a 0-4 start at Toyota Center, the Rockets now have won seven of their last eight at home.
Even on a night like Thursday, when a sizable portion of the sellout crowd was there to support the Lakers — at one point Los Angeles fans’ boos drowned out chants of “MVP!” when Harden benefited from a call — the home crowd provided a boost.
The Rockets, who are still below .500 at 13-14, will take any help they can get.
“We have got to carry those juices over when nobody’s watching,” D’Antoni said.
They put themselves in this hole with sluggish, uninspired play.
For the second consecutive game, we got a taste of how good these Rockets can be.
They played with an energy that had been missing, a sustained intensity that proved to be the difference.
Well, that and Harden. We already knew how good Harden was. Lest it were forgotten, he reminded all, including those who came to see LeBron.