Harden, Rockets ride record quarter to rout
Houston takes 3-1 lead on Minnesota Mitchell, jazz dump Thunder for 3-1 series lead
James Harden scored a franchise playoff-record 22 points in the third quarter to ignite a sudden offensive eruption as the Houston Rockets seized control of their Western Conference first-round playoff series with a 119-100 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 4 on Monday night in Minneapolis.
Harden poured in a game-high 36 points, authoring a remarkable in-game turnaround after his 0-for-7 start. He shot 7-for-10 in the third as the Rockets matched their first-half scoring output with 50 points.
Houston, which holds a 3-1 series lead, can wrap up the best-of-seven set in Game 5 at home on Wednesday.
Chris Paul scored 25 points, Eric Gordon had 18 and Trevor Ariza, who kept the cold-shooting Rockets afloat with 11 first-quarter points, chipped in 15. Clint Capela finished with a double-double of 14 points and 17 rebounds while blocking four shots.
Paul added six rebounds, six assists and five steals to his stat line.
Houston led 50-49 at the intermission before opening the second half with 11 consecutive points.
Following a three-pointer by Jimmy Butler that cut the deficit back to 11 points, Harden caught fire by drilling a three-pointer, converting a driving layup and adding a pair of free throws. He scored 16 points before the midpoint of the period and later buried consecutive three-pointers that pushed the advantage to 83-60.
When Gordon sank two treys inside the final 30 seconds, including one that beat the buzzer to end the period, the Rockets led 100-69.
The Rockets shot 9-of-13 from behind the arc and sank all 13 of their free throws in the third period. The third-quarter output was their highest of the season and the best in their postseason annals.
Karl-Anthony Towns posted a double-double for the Timberwolves with 22 points and 15 rebounds. Butler finished with 19 points and nine rebounds while Derrick Rose produced another strong effort off the bench with 17 points on 7-for11 shooting. Minnesota committed 17 turnovers and missed nine free throws.
Houston led by as many as 35 points in the second half.
Jazz 113, Thunder 96
Donovan Mitchell recorded 33 points and seven rebounds, and Utah took a 3-1 series lead with a scintillating victory over visiting Oklahoma City.
Joe Ingles made five three-pointers while scoring 20 points, and Rudy Gobert contributed 16 points and 10 rebounds as Utah moved one win away from clinching the Western Conference first-round series. Ricky Rubio added 13 points and eight assists, and Derrick Favors also scored 13 points.
Paul George scored 32 points and Russell Westbrook had 23 points and 14 rebounds for the Thunder. However, Westbrook made just seven of 18 field-goal attempts and Carmelo Anthony shot 5-of-18 while scoring 11 points.
Game 5 is on Wednesday in Oklahoma City.
Mitchell’s point total was the highest in a playoff game by a Jazz rookie in franchise history.
“He is playing amazing, he doesn’t seem like a rookie at all,” Rubio said of Mitchell on a postgame interview with TNT. “It’s fun to see it, and it’s fun to help him get better. He’s amazing.”
The testy contest featured seven technical fouls. Utah’s Jae Crowder was ejected with 5:30 remaining for delivering a left elbow into the nose of Oklahoma City’s Steven Adams.
Also drawing technicals were Gobert, Ingles and coach Quin Snyder for the Jazz. Adams, George and Raymond Felton received technicals for the Thunder.
Oklahoma City was just 5-of-26 from three-point range and shot 39.3 percent overall. Utah made 45.1 percent of its shots and was 12-of-34 from long range.
The Jazz pulled away at the start of the second half. They scored the first nine points of the third quarter and took a 67-52 lead on Gobert’s inside basket with 9:56 left.
Back-to-back baskets by George pulled Oklahoma City within 70-60 before Utah scored six of the next seven points, with Mitchell’s basket making it a 15-point margin with 6:24 left.
The Thunder were within 12 before the Jazz rattled off nine straight points. Mitchell made consecutive baskets and Ingles capped the spurt with a three-pointer to give Utah an 87-66 advantage with 1:56 left.
Oklahoma City trimmed its deficit to 15 in the final minute of the third before Crowder drove for a layup with six seconds to go as the Jazz took a 90-73 lead into the final stanza.
The Thunder trailed by 13 early in the fourth quarter before Utah responded with a 9-2 burst. Mitchell culminated the run with a three-pointer to boost the lead to 99-79 with 8:18 left.
Oklahoma City trimmed its deficit to 14 with 2:30 left to play, but Mitchell and Ingles answered with three-pointers to make it 111-91 with 1:28 to play.
Mitchell scored 13 first-half points as Utah held a 58-52 lead at the break.
(Reuters)