Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Rockets take control
OKLAHOMA CITY — James Harden’s shot was off, and one of the most unlikely players on Houston’s roster came to the rescue.
Nene scored 28 points, Harden added 16 points and eight assists as the Rockets withstood a another triple-double from Russell Westbrook beat Oklahoma City 113-109 on Sunday to take a 3-1 lead in their first-round NBA Western Conference playoff series.
ROCKETS 113, THUNDER 109
OKLAHOMA CITY — James Harden’s shot was off, and one of the most unlikely players on Houston’s roster came to the rescue.
Nene scored 28 points on perfect shooting from the field, and the Rockets beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 113-109 on Sunday to take a 3-1 lead in their first-round NBA Western Conference playoff series.
The 6-foot-11 center from Brazil made all 12 of his shots and had 10 rebounds. It was an impressive performance from a reserve who averaged about nine points per game in the regular season.
“He puts the work in,” Harden said. “He’s a true vet. He’s in the weight room. He’s doing all the proper things to get his body and his mind right to go out there and compete at a high level every single night. Tonight, it paid off.”
Harden finished with 16 points, but he had other help, too. Eric Gordon and Lou Williams each scored 18 points, and Trevor Ariza had 14.
Houston can close out the series Tuesday at home.
Oklahoma City star Russell Westbrook had a triple-double by halftime and finished with 35 points, 14 rebounds and 14 assists. The Thunder said Westbrook joined Wilt Chamberlain as the only players to claim three consecutive playoff triple-doubles.
Steven Adams scored 18 points for Oklahoma City, and Victor Oladipo had 15.
The Thunder again struggled when Westbrook rested in the second half, and Westbrook wasn’t interested in explaining why. He took over a question directed at Adams and defended the team.
“Don’t split us up,” Westbrook said. “Don’t try and split us up. Don’t try to make us go against each other or make it ‘Russell and the rest
of the guys, Russell against Houston.’ I don’t want to hear that. We’re in this together. We play as a team. That’s all that matters.”
Westbrook had 17 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists at the break. He grabbed the 10th rebound in the final second of the second quarter, and the Thunder led 58-54 at intermission. Meanwhile, Harden made just 2 of 9 shots and scored just six points in the first half. The Thunder opened the second half with a 10-2 run, but Houston closed to 77-73 at the end of the third quarter.
Houston pulled ahead in the fourth, but Adams made the first of two free throws with 21.7 seconds remaining to cut Oklahoma City’s deficit to four. He rebounded his missed second free throw and found Westbrook for a 3-pointer that cut Houston’s lead to one point. But the Thunder lost track of Nene on the other end, and he converted a threepoint play. Gordon’s two free throws with 6.2 seconds remaining made it a four-point game. HOUSTON (113)
Ariza 4-8 3-3 14, Anderson 2-5 4-4 9, Capela 2-5 0-0 4, Beverley 2-13 0-0 6, Harden 5-16 6-7 16, Hilario 12-12 4-7 28, Gordon 5-13 4-5 18, L.Williams 5-13 7-7 18. Totals 37-85 28-33 113.
OKLAHOMA CITY (109)
Gibson 2-5 2-2 6, Adams 8-10 2-5 18, Westbrook 1028 12-13 35, Oladipo 7-10 0-0 15, Roberson 5-9 2-12 13, Grant 5-5 0-0 10, McDermott 2-6 0-0 5, Kanter 1-5 0-0 2, Cole 0-3 0-0 0, Abrines 2-4 0-0 5. Totals 42-85 18-32 109.
Houston ............. 22 32 19 40 — 113 Oklahoma City ..... 26 32 19 32 — 109 3-Point Goals—Houston 11-35 (Gordon 4-7, Ariza 3-5, Beverley 2-8, Anderson 1-3, L.Williams 1-5, Harden 0-7), Oklahoma City 7-19 (Westbrook 3-8, Abrines 1-2, Roberson 1-2, Oladipo 1-3, McDermott 1-3, Cole 0-1).
Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Houston 45 (Hilario 10), Oklahoma City 39 (Westbrook 13). Assists—Houston 18 (Harden 8), Oklahoma City 20 (Westbrook 14). Total Fouls—Houston 26, Oklahoma City 20. Technicals—Gordon. Attendance—18,203 (18,203).