One more shot to close it out
Late miscues prove costly in tight loss that forces Game 7
Rockets guard Russell Westbrook looks to pass out of traffic in the team’s 104-100 loss against Oklahoma City.
With the Rockets holding a two-point lead and five minutes remaining for the Thunder to save their season, the Rockets could see the finish line and the Lakers waiting for them in the second round.
The Thunder had the Rockets right where they wanted them.
The Rockets had stumbled their way Monday into the minutes when Oklahoma City is the NBA’s best closing team. To eliminate the Thunder, the Rockets would have to be better than the league’s best.
Once again, it was not close. The Rockets blew out the Thunder in three wins. But for a third time in the series, the Thunder owned the final minutes of a tight game, surging through a 12-2 late run to stun the Rockets 104-100
and force Game 7 on Wednesday at Lake Buenva Vista, Fla.
“When it comes down to the last five minutes, they’re the best team in the league,” Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said. “CP (Chris Paul) does not miss foul shots and he hits big shots. We have to do a better job before it gets down to the last five minutes. Even with that, we still had chances to win. We just didn’t do it. We didn’t finish it off.”
Instead, with the win within reach, the Rockets crumbled. In the final four minutes after taking a six-point lead following a James Harden 3-pointer and a free throw, the Rockets made 1 of 7 shots with three turnovers.
Harden and Eric Gordon missed deep 3s. Russell Westbrook airballed a long jumper with the game tied in the final minute and Harden missed a trey he had to force to beat the shot clock.
“Basketball is all about shot making,” said Harden, who had 32 points, eight rebounds and seven assists but went 1 of 6 in the fourth quarter. “If you’re able to knock down shots, especially late in the fourth quarter, you give yourself an opportunity. But I keep going back to turning the ball over. We’ve got to be more solid with the basketball.”
After Harden missed a 3pointer he had to force to beat the shot clock, Paul drew a foul on a drive when Robert Covington reached in with 12.4 seconds remaining. Paul had already nailed a pair of 3-pointers to fuel the Thunder’s late run. He knocked down both free throws with the lead.
“I think we’re fine,” Westbrook said. “Tonight, we didn’t close it out, but we’re OK.
“A lot of the mistakes we made in close games have been on us, to be honest. The last turnover on my part. It’s kind of been on us. That’s a fix we have to be aware to (win) the close games.”
When Westbrook threw away the ball again, the Rockets had their 22nd turnover, Westbrook’s seventh in 27 minutes, and the Thunder iced the win at the line.
“That’s my fault,” Westbrook said. “Last game I had zero; tonight, I had seven. Simple as that.”
Yet, as badly as the Rockets broke down in the closing minutes, they especially lamented the turnovers that piled up all game. They had led the league in making the fewest turnovers in the postseason, just 11 per game. They had 10 in the third quarter.
“You can’t get 22 turnovers,” D’Antoni said. “We’re trying to get less than 10; 22 sealed our fate. That was all on us. We just weren’t sharp. We got a little careless a few times.
“We just got to play better. We didn’t play very well offensively. We weren’t sharp. Twenty-two turnovers, you cut that down and have 12 more possessions, you got 12, 13 more points. That’s enough.”
The Rockets held the Thunder to 42.7 percent shooting, had 14 steals (five by Covington) and even when the 3-point shooting was off, got to the rim consistently.
With the turnovers slowing them, however, that was only enough to get the game to its closing, decisive minutes. As with Game 4, the Rockets put together a sudden run, outscoring the Thunder 14-1 in a 4½-minute stretch that put them on the brink of advancing.
But when Oklahoma City reached those closing minutes when it would have to step up, the Thunder scored on six of their final nine trips down the floor, getting good shots on every possession.
The Rockets were left trying to figure a way to beat OKC when it is at its best — or secure a Game 7 win in the first 43 minutes.