Harden pours in 36 as Rockets race past Lakers in Game 1.
Harden has 36 after fast start, and defense closes the deal
Anthony Davis tried to back P.J. Tucker down. He might as well had tried to punch out a fire hydrant.
LeBron James tried to battle Tucker for a loose ball. He would have been better off pulling a pork chop from a Doberman.
The Lakers tried to use their considerable might, with size and star power well rested as the Rockets struggled with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Rockets would not budge, standing up to all the Lakers can throw at them and sending back a message the Lakers could not answer.
Hold my Beard. Or try to.
Starting with James Harden dominating the first half and with Russell Westbrook and Eric Gor
don rolling through the second half, all while Tucker was as tough as boot leather, the Rockets handled the Lakers with surprising ease, rolling to a 112-97 win in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals.
“We got by the first round; so what, what’s next,” Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said, not seeming a bit surprised by the win or how thorough it had been. “We didn’t celebrate getting by the first round. That’s not what we’re here for.
“They do a great job of responding, taking on a challenge. And it is a challenge. LeBron and Anthony Davis are two of the best players in the league. P.J.’s taken the challenge all his life. That’s why he’s in the NBA. Eric Gordon is just a super defender, big or little. A lot of guys are contributing. They’re just taking the challenge. That’s the job that needs to be done.”
The Rockets led by as much as 19 after a 14-0 fourth-quarter surge, most with Harden on the bench. Harden, however, had gotten the Rockets off to a flying start, scoring 25 of his 36 points in the first half, his 22nd postseason game with at least 35 points, one shy of Hakeem Olajuwon’s franchise record.
From the start, however, the Rockets got the shots they wanted, with Westbrook adding 24 points with nine rebounds and six assists, while Gordon added 23.
Most of all, after a shaky start, the Rockets’ defense clamped down much as it had throughout the first round. Led by Tucker battling Davis inside and Gordon controlling James outside, the Rockets held the Lakers to 38.1 percent shooting after the first quarter. James finished with 20 points, none in the fourth quarter.
“Our defense is good,” D’Antoni said. “Our defense has been good the whole time we’ve been here. It was terrific against OKC. That’s what won us the series.”
For most of the night, the Rockets could not build a cushion, even through a third quarter stretch in which Harden was rolling while James was on the bench. They led by just three when Harden went out and James returned. But the Lakers also never could sustain a run after an early push to a seven-point lead.
When Westbrook ended the third quarter with a drive and a pair of midrange jumpers, while Austin Rivers drove to a three-point play. That sent the Rockets to the fourth quarter with a seven-point lead.
When Gordon got off to a fast start in the fourth quarter, nailing a 3-pointer and then twice drawing fouls, the Rockets pushed the lead to 94-82 in less than two minutes.
Westbrook added a 3-pointer, his first in four attempts, giving the Rockets a 10-0 run and a 15-point lead with nine minutes remaining to make it hold up, and with plenty to say to anyone within earshot about it.
The Rockets never looked back.
They had clicked from the start.
The Lakers began the game stretching their defense to take away the Rockets’ 3s, but Harden foiled that plan. With Harden regularly getting to the rim, finishing or drawing fouls, the Lakers had to start sending double teams or just shading a help defender in his direction.
The Rockets did not knock down many of the wide-open 3s that got them, though Robert Covington and Tucker each hit a pair, but Harden kept scoring, anyway.
When Harden ended the half with a step-back 3-pointer over a closing Kyle Kuzma, the Rockets led 63-55, their largest lead of the half.
The Rockets showed signs of getting the defense straightened out late in the half when the Lakers made 1 of their last 6 shots with the Rockets keeping them on the perimeter, Davis having to make tough, contested shots to keep the game tight.
That could not last. The Rockets defense got stronger and stronger, the offense better and more balanced. Finally, the Lakers could not keep up, beginning a countdown to clear the bench.