Harden takes a toll on Rubio, Jazz defense
With Utah trailing by 17 points near the end of the third quarter on Wednesday, buried too deep by a storm of 3-pointers and James Harden’s pile-drives to the rim to see any way out of another blowout loss at Toyota Center that would put the Rockets ahead 2-0 in the first round of the playoffs, Ricky Rubio still played defense like the series depended on it.
His Jazz team looked lost and he, the point guard and first line of defense on Harden, searched for a way to stop the inevitable. But he was tired. Worse, he was beaten.
Rubio whipped back his hands and led with his chest. His on-ball defense was exemplary but not designed for two games of flagellation. Harden (6-5, 200 pounds) was a tidal wave and Rubio (6-4, 190) was the receding shoreline, soon to be swept off the hardwood.
Harden sized up Rubio behind the 3-point line. He shouldered into Rubio’s chest for what seemed like the 100th time and might have felt like twice that, like a breaking point, given all of the Rockets’ pounding and preening.
It was too much for Rubio to take quietly anymore. He refused to absorb another blow. He stood firm and bumped his chest into Harden.
That is all it took for Jazz coach Quin Snyder and officials to recognize that Rubio had done something he should not have.
“That’s part of playing the Rockets,” Snyder said of Utah’s mounting frustration in the 118-98 loss. “It’s how you deal with those situations ... things are going to happen during the game. (Clint) Capela is going to get a dunk. Harden is going to hit a 3. You’re going to foul them, and all the things you don’t want to have happen. The adjustment to that is to keep competing.”
Rubio could not in that moment. His gesture looked retaliatory. It made for an easy foul call.
Without making eye contact, Harden leaned into Rubio and appeared to say something unfriendly. Rubio silently stared ahead.
Snyder had seen enough. He removed Rubio and subbed in Joe Ingles.
“I took him out of the game because he’s been in the game for a while and he was tired,” Snyder said.
As Harden had done with Rubio, the Rockets broke Utah of its will in Game 2.
“They’re playing at an unbelievably high level,” Snyder said. “When we started the game offensively, we turned it over. We have to play with more force offensively to get where we want to go.”
The Rockets opened up with considerably more precision. Harden scored or assisted on nine of the team’s first 10 field goals. The Rockets had a streak of seven made shots. The Jazz finished the first quarter missing nine of their last 10 shots.
Harden finished with 32 points and 10 assists. He made six 3s, only two fewer than the Jazz.
“They’re one of the best teams scoring-wise of all time,” Rubio said. “To beat that, first, you have to score. We haven’t done that consistently. And then you have to play really good defense. You’re going to give something up. You can’t cover everything. You can’t be in the corner, you can’t be in the lob, you can’t be everywhere, but at least try.”
Rubio also lauded the Rockets’ defense, which has made the Jazz gun-shy and insecure.
“It’s more us not playing with confidence,” Rubio said. “We haven’t had any good stretch where we feel (like) the team we are.”
So far, everything in the series has gone according to the Rockets’ game plan.
“We’re on another level,” Harden said. “Defensively, we’re engaged.”
Harden was glad to hear he dispirited the Jazz, but he was far from celebrating.
“That’s what you hope for in the postseason,” he said. “Obviously, they have a different kind of swag at home. Our swag and confidence is where it needs to be. We need to bring that to the road. We all know how tough it is to win in Utah.”
Returning home represents most of the hope that Utah is left clutching. The rest of it poked through like a shred of daylight in the second half of Game 2.
The Rockets began the half ahead 70-44 but only outscored the Jazz by two points in the third quarter.
“They were missing shots,” Rubio said. “They felt us for a second.”
Apparently that is all the Jazz needed to believe they can even the series in Utah.
“They didn’t feel us at all in the first two quarters today and in the first game for most of the time,” Rubio said. “It’s about us competing and trying to give us the best chance to put us in the game.
“Watch film. Get better. In Utah, it’s tough to beat us over there.”
Rubio sounded and looked focused after the loss compared with the moment he chestbumped Harden.
“He is hard, but I’m not going to quit,” Rubio said. “We’re not going to quit. We’re going to keep playing, giving him different looks.
“We’re still alive.”