IN A GOOD PLACE
After 3-2 trip, players return home excited about way things are going
As Trevor Ariza came away with one last rebound, a two-point win at San Antonio on Wednesday finally secure, the Rockets’ bench bolted onto the floor. There were shouts and fist pumps, high-fives and chest bumps.
The Rockets had completed just the second week of the season. They would soon repeat the phrase “long way to go” about a variety of issues. But their brief, giddy celebration was about more than a narrow November win.
They were marking the end of a long road trip, which seemingly took a month. On the heels of a preseason excursion that took the Rockets to Shanghai and Beijing and a season-opening trip to Los Angeles and Dallas, this five-game jaunt included visits to Cleveland, New York, Atlanta, Washington and San Antonio, a lot of stops so early in the season.
“To come out of the road trip 3-2 is great,” Rockets forward Ryan Anderson said after the 101-99 win over the Spurs. “Obviously,
this was a long road trip, a tough road trip to start the season. We played some great teams. To come out of it 3-2 and with a positive record is great.
“You know, this team — we have a lot of faith in each other, and we know how good we are. It’s tough to win in (San Antonio). You know they’re a team that obviously has some great players, and to get a win in here, you’ve got to be happy. I mean, celebrating a win is important with your team but especially at a place like this. It was a big win for us.”
The 5-3 Rockets have played more road games (seven) in their first eight games than any team since the 1970-71 Cavaliers. But they seem to have come farther than they traveled, making the “signature win,” as Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni declared it, about more than holding on to beat the Spurs.
“Oh yeah, we’re a better team than we left,” Rockets guard Eric Gordon said. “We’re getting better and better. We are. We’ve beaten some good teams, and we’re looking to see if we can put together a streak of games.”
Defensive improvement
The most significant improvement has come on defense, where the Rockets had put together good stretches but no performance as solid as Wednesday’s in San Antonio. The Spurs made 39.3 percent of their shots, just 29.5 percent in the second half. When Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge missed at the rim in the closing seconds, the Rockets had held the Spurs to 16 fourth-quarter points.
“I mean, the five-game road trip, we could have easily called it quits against a really good team at home,” Rockets guard James Harden said. “We showed some fight. And the fourth quarter, they made a run we knew they were going to make, and we withstood it. We got some stops and came out with the win.”
As encouraged as the Rockets were by their defensive improvement, Harden’s play has been a sensation.
His first triple-double of the season brought another perusal through the record book. He became the first Rocket with 15 assists in a triple-double and the first visiting player to accomplish the feat in San Antonio during Gregg Popovich’s 20 seasons as Spurs coach.
The Rockets are averaging 62.4 points per game off Harden’s scoring and assists, easily the most in the NBA. His 12.4 assists per game lead the league, even with the Rockets’ pace lagging from their plans, and he is fourth in scoring with 30.6 points per game.
“He’s always been a great passer,” Popovich said. “He has the ball in his hands a lot more as the point guard. He is one of the best players in the league, very difficult to guard.”
Star’s new normal
On the five-game trip, Harden encountered plenty of trapping and switching yet averaged 31.4 points, 14.4 assists and eight rebounds while making 53.8 percent of his shots and 43.9 percent of his 3-pointers, enough for the Rockets to believe his latest addition to their record book is his new normal.
“James was his normal self,” D’Antoni said, “which is unbelievable.”
Harden did seem to wear down late in Wednesday’s game, having carried his team through much of the trip and after he was rushed back into the game after a 14-1 Spurs run to a fourth-quarter lead. He will no doubt see more defenses designed on slowing him. The Rockets finally are home, but the schedule remains tough. They face the Spurs again Saturday, and after a game against Philadelphia on Monday, and they go to Oklahoma City on Wednesday for the start of a back-to-back that ends against Portland at Toyota Center.
Still, the Rockets survived their first test and got better, bringing optimism about what will come.
“I thought we did solid,” Gordon said. “We can get so much better. That’s what I like about this team. We’ll get there. It’s good to go back home.”