HO, HO, OH NO!
TEXANS, ROCKETS DROP CHRISTMAS DAY GAMES |
OKLAHOMA CITY — The Thunder had their Big Three, as they always hoped they would by Christmas when they plugged Carmelo Anthony in with Russell Westbrook and Paul George.
The Rockets needed one more big 3.
They could give chase through the fourth quarter. They could spend a few possessions in a hack-a defense. They could do enough to have a lastshot chance.
They needed just one more 3-pointer, having spent nearly the entire fourth quarter searching for it. Trailing by three, Trevor Ariza airballed a 3-pointer to tie. With the Rockets down to their last shot, Oklahoma City’s Andre Roberson, who had been twice intentionally sent to the line minutes earlier, got a hand on a James Harden 3, blocking the shot and the Rockets’ last chance to avoid a 112107 loss the Thunder on Monday night.
Roberson, who went 2-of-4 when the Rockets intentionally fouled him including one that he banked in, put the finishing touch on the Thunder win with a breakaway. But the Rockets left Oklahoma City with a third consecutive loss since their 14-game winning streak that they knew came in a game that was there for the taking had they found a way to make the shots needed to keep pace with the Thunder’s power trio.
“We battled,” Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said. “Paul George and Melo and Westbrook, they’re not bad. And when they shoot that well and play that well, we have to make it up in other areas. That other area is somewhere in street clothes. That’s the way it is.
“They played a very good game. I thought we played a good game. It was right there. We just didn’t finish the game up like we should have.”
Little in reserve
Missing Chris Paul, who could return from his strained groin muscle for one of the games in the Thursday-Friday backto-back at Boston and Washington, took its toll. Oklahoma City’s shortcoming has been when it goes to the bench. During the Rockets’ winning streak, that had been their strength, with Paul directing the second unit. But while every Rockets starter scored in double figures Monday, the reserves combined
for eight points.
Still, the Rockets led by five early in the fourth quarter. After Oklahoma City briefly took a five-point lead, Harden finished a drive, giving him 29 points (to go with 14 assists and eight rebounds) and pulling the Rockets to within one shot.
They never could make it. The Rockets made a 3-pointer two minutes into the fourth quarter. They never hit another, sinking just 1 of 11 in the fourth quarter as the Thunder trapped the ball out of Harden’s hands and took their chances on the Rockets’ shooting and playmaking around him.
“They’ve been playing well,” said guard Eric Gordon of Oklahoma City’s five-game winning streak. “I thought we played a lot better than we have before. We didn’t take care of the ball at the end and didn’t really get a good shot up.
“They’re a good team. I think they were just figuring out who they are and I think they’re starting to. We played well, but they hit tough shots toward the end of the game. They were knocking them down and we weren’t.”
All three were clicking
The Rockets stayed within range, holding the Thunder to a manageable 24 points in the fourth quarter. Westbrook scored 11 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter. Among them, Oklahoma City’s collection of All-Star talent combined to make 28 of 51 shots, scoring 75 points.
“They played well,” Harden said. “They made big-time shots. We had our chances. We had several chances. We just couldn’t convert. We couldn’t get stops when we needed to.”
But the Rockets did get stops on three consecutive possessions when they trailed by three with less than two minutes left. They came up empty after each with Clint Capela — who had 19 points and 10 rebounds in 30 minutes in his return from a heel injury — missing a pair of free throws before the consecutive missed 3s.
“We were right there,” forward P.J. Tucker said. “We could have won this game. Give them credit. They made some tough shots down at the end. We made some mental mistakes and they scored, but we were right there.”