Tag teaming it works just fine
Westbrook’s triple-double, McLemore’s 27 off bench pick up slack for Harden’s cold shooting
The Rockets always believed there would be nights like these, games in which James Harden couldn’t lead them, so Russell Westbrook would.
There had been glimpses before. There had been signs even recently that might have been obscured by Westbrook’s misfiring. When the Rockets needed him Saturday, however, Westbrook was masterful and the Rockets seemed better for it.
Westbrook posted his third consecutive triple-double, but this one was more controlled, more efficient. With Ben McLemore adding the shooter the Rockets needed next to him, they got a final push to top the Phoenix Suns 115-109 on Saturday night at Toyota Center.
“Slowly, but surely,” Westbrook said of the progress he has made feeling comfortable running the Rockets’ offense. “Steady, steady growth of what I see, how I can effect the game to win games and that’s all I care about.
“We did a good job of getting stops and rebounding the ball and getting out on the break. A lot of teams put a lot of emphasis on crashing the glass. Once we get the ball, it’s tough to stop us in transition.”
The Rockets are 5-1 when Westbrook records double-digit assists, 5-0 when he scores at least 20 points and makes at least half his shots. After he went 14 of 57 in the past two games, he made 10 of 18 against the Suns, scoring eight points with a pair of assists in the final four minutes.
“He’ll continue to get better,” Harden said. “Obviously, this is his first time away from Oklahoma City ever. He’s still trying to get adjusted. It’s not going to take 20, 25 games. It might take the course of the whole year. It’s still early. As long as we continue to rack up wins while we’re trying to figure it out, that’s important.”
“That’s how deep we are. We have a really good team, guys that can make plays and knock down shots.”
As an experiment, playing so long with Harden misfiring was risky. As an exercise, it might have worked better than the Rockets (15-7) could have hoped.
Harden eventually offered a familiar burst, scoring 17 straight points in the fourth quarter. But in many ways, the Rockets seemed especially strong, especially deep with weapons when the league’s top scorer wasn’t anywhere near his norm.
“He finds a way to get 34 points, but you know, he finds a way,” Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said after Harden made just 8 of 27 from the field, going 3 of 17 from deep. “He finds a way to win the game.”
The Rockets needed Harden’s scoring surge midway through the fourth quarter when they had seemed to bog down. With nine minutes left, they had missed six consecutive shots with two turnovers. Harden returned and missed a 3, falling to5of21.
He had scored 16 points when he suddenly took over and changed the game. In the next three minutes, he scored the Rockets’ next 15 points.
The Rockets, however, still could not shake the Suns (10-12). For that, they returned to what they had done to get by without Harden’s customary scoring for as long as they did.
McLemore, in returning to his role off the bench, took a pass from Westbrook on a break before Westbrook drove to a threepoint play. Westbrook again set up McLemore inside before he again finished a drive.
McLemore finished with 27 points a game after scoring 28 in Toronto, the first time he has contributed more than 25 points in consecutive games in his career. After not hitting more than three 3-pointers in any of the first 11 games, he has made at least four in six of the past 11.
“He is a great player,” McLemore said of becoming more in sync with Westbrook. “We just feed off James and Russ. We just find ways to make their job a little easier.”
With one more Westbrook drive to another three-point play, the Rockets led by eight with 17.8 seconds left.
That was enough to ice it and give the Rockets a taste of how they can win when Harden struggles.
“Obviously, he played really well,” D’Antoni said of Westbrook. “He was just looking for it. He was playing great, taking what the defense was giving him. He did a great job tonight.”
More than that, he showed what the Rockets can do even when Harden does not have it going. For a few fourth-quarter minutes, they might have even gotten a taste of what they can be when both guards are clicking.