Stifling defense helps Rockets take Game 2 against Thunder.
Down 6 at half, Harden and crew allow just 39 points in second half
As the Rockets gathered shortly before Game 2 on Thursday, knowing it was the sort of game that could shape a series, Mike D’Antoni delivered the sort of message not found in movie scripts.
The day before, he had spoken of heart and will and character. But as pregame coach talks go, this was more Disney bubble campus than Disney movie camp.
“We actually talked about that before the game: When we’re not making shots, we’ve got to find ways to win,” Rockets guard James Harden said. “I keep saying it’s going to be on the defensive end.
“Courage and confidence goes a long way.”
The warning worked. The Rockets went to the locker room at halftime having missed 15 consecutive 3s. When they returned, they cranked up their defense, found Harden help wherever he turned, and finally took off in a fourth-quarter blast past the Thunder 111-98 to take a 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven first-round series.
With the Thunder collapsing toward the lane and Harden misfiring, the Rockets took an NBA playoff-record 56 3-pointers. But rather than be frustrated by the missed shots as Harden and Eric Gordon combined to go 2-of-21 from deep, the Rockets increasingly turned to their defense.
“To hold them to (98) points, 39 in the second half, if you told me that before the game, I’d tell you they’re probably not going to win that game,” Rockets center P.J. Tucker said. “That’s pretty according to plan. We always talk about trying to hold people to 24 points and under in a quarter. We did that twice in the second half. That gives our offense a chance to win it.”
Oklahoma City has built much of its success on its excellence in the final five minutes of games, but the Thunder made just 33.3 percent of their fourthquarter shots. The 39 second-half points were just four more than the fewest the Rockets had allowed in any half this season.
“It’s a bonus, because when we’re making shots, our swag is way crazier,” Harden said. “But our swag is even better when we’re not, because we have to guard and defend and get on the same page defensively.”
The Rockets still had to find scoring to make up for all the shots they were missing. But as much as they seemed lifted when Tucker ended the streak of clanged 3s with a 3-pointer 13 seconds into the second half that he quickly followed with another, Tucker said little thought had been paid to the Rockets’ 2-of-19 3-point shooting in the second quarter and that he did not even know about the run of misses.
“That’s our team. That’s how we are,” Tucker said. “It’s crazy. We can miss that many in a row, but we’re going to keep firing. Keep shooting, keep shooting. All Coach talks about: Keep shooting, keep shooting. You miss five, shoot 10 more. We instill that confidence in everybody on our team.”
That helped lead to balanced scoring around Harden’s and Gordon’s drives. Danuel House Jr. had career playoff highs with 19 points and nine rebounds. Even with Russell Westbrook out, the six players other than Harden and Gordon combined to make 49.1 percent of their shots.
That was most obvious when the Rockets took control of the game while Harden sat late in the third quarter, a stretch when Westbrook normally runs the offense. After a short jumper from Shai Gilgeous Alexander, who led the Thunder with 31 points, the Rockets outscored Oklahoma City 21-8 while Harden was out.
“That was (the) game right there,” Harden said. “The guys just took it upon themselves to guard. We felt Oklahoma City was getting tired. We kind of pushed on the gas on them. That was a gamechanger for us.”
Harden returned to sink a pair of free throws before setting up Jeff Green for a 3. With Oklahoma City still within nine heading to the final four minutes, Harden put the game away with a mid-range jumper and his second 3-pointer of the night.
In many ways, however, the Rockets got the win because they were ready to be at their best when their shooting was its worst.
“Second half, I thought (the defense) was incredible,” D’Antoni said. “That won us the game. You have to win games playing bad. The first half, we shot the ball horribly. But you know, two games. I just told the team all we did was defend home court. Now we have to go to Oklahoma City. I don’t understand; they kind of laughed.”