The beat goes on
Rockets extend winning streak to 15 with victory over Celtics
The Rockets were in trouble, even if they didn’t know it or at least would not admit it.
But the Boston Celtics were another bucket from control, the winning streak another two minutes from being over.
It was the best thing that could have happened to the Rockets.
Of all the ways the Rockets had prevailed throughout the winning streak, from high-scoring blowouts to tight grinds with short-handed lineups, never had they faced the test or even the sense of import that hit them when they were down to their last chances Saturday night at Toyota Center.
As often as it is said, this was like a playoff game for reasons that went beyond national television coverage and a lively crowd.
With the Rockets pushed to their most urgent, most difficult moments, they were at their best, with a pair of steals in the final two minutes fueling a sudden surge past the Celtics 123-120 for a win they found as telling as exhilarating.
Never-say-die attitude
“We keep playing,” said forward P.J. Tucker, who came up with the first of consecutive game-saving steals. “The game wasn’t pretty for us.
“We weren’t making all the shots. James (Harden) and Chris (Paul) didn’t go crazy. We literally needed everybody to step up and do something tonight.
“To go on these kind of win streaks these are the kind of games you have to grind out and win.
“You have to win a few of those to win a championship.”
The Rockets needed to pull out a victory with a fourth-quarter comeback for the first time in the winning streak, now at 15 games to match the second longest in franchise history.
The Rockets had won the previous games in the streak by an average of 13.3 points.
They had never trailed heading into a fourth quarter in their run until the Celtics took a fivepoint lead into the fourth quarter Saturday night.
But the Rockets have been the league’s best team by far in clutch situations (ahead or behind by five points or fewer in the final minutes), outscoring teams by 21.5 points per 100 possessions in those situations.
The glaring hole in that was the meltdown in Boston when the Celtics rallied from down 26 to win, finishing off the Rockets by drawing consecutive offensive fouls on Harden.
“Our focus level when we get in those situations is insane,” Tucker said. “We learn from our mistakes.
“Last time in Boston, you remember that crazy play that happened at the end, a couple plays, we were not going to let that happen again. That was something we want to grow on. “We did tonight.” This time, with the game on the line, the Rockets twice came up with the defensive plays that changed everything.
After allowing 64 firsthalf points, the Rockets had improved their defense enough to give themselves a chance.
Eric Gordon, who led the Rockets with 29 points, put in four 3-pointers in the fourth quarter.
A Tucker 3–pointer and Harden drive pulled the Rockets to within one, before Al Horford dropped in a baseline hook for a three-point lead with two minutes left. Game-changing plays
With that, the Rockets came up with the gamewinning plays. After Harden missed a 3, Tucker and Paul swarmed Terry Rozier with Tucker batting the ball loose and Paul coming away with it to set up Trevor Ariza for a game-tying 3.
“We always do that,” Paul said. “Any time a rebound goes up. Me and Tuck are kind of scrappy like that.
“When it got loose, I saw Trevor standing by that line. That’s what we do.”
Moments later, with notorious closer Kyrie Irving bringing the ball up, Ariza poked it free and headed the other way for a breakaway layup and the lead.
“He just threw the ball right in front of me,” Ariza said. “I have long arms.”
When Horford, whose jumper in Boston gave the Celtics their only lead of the game, twice missed jumpers and lost the ball to another Ariza steal, the Rockets could finish the game at the line.
That got dicey when Harden and Gordon each missed free throws in the final seconds, but when Marcus Smart missed a turnaround 3 from 27 feet at the buzzer, the Rockets had a win unlike any in the winning streak.
“It’s something that we have,” Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said. “This was a gut-check in the sense of being down six most of the game, or eight. Guys just kept fighting.” jonathan.feigen@chron.com twitter.com/jonathan_feigen