Roaring into the break
Harden, Westbrook play like All-Stars in leading late surge to win
James Harden had gone from spectacular to limping, from a run of 19 consecutive Rockets points to a collision with Boston’s Jayson Tatum and a struggle to get up and down the court with five fouls.
Yet, as much as he had carried the Rockets through a sensational third-quarter stretch, he was not alone.
Enter Russell Westbrook. Sprint relay teams don’t hand off so smoothly.
For all the times the Rockets could only imagine what they could do when both former MVPs are at their best, their fourth-quarter surge to a 116-105
takedown of the Celtics provided the answer.
“It’s pretty scary,” Harden said. With the game on the line, it was more than the Celtics, with the third-ranked defense in the NBA could stop as the Rockets bolted through a 20-4 run over 3½ minutes that turned a twopoint game into a late blowout that cleared the benches with
two minutes remaining.
Harden and Westbrook combined for 78 points becoming the first Rockets teammates to score 35 points in the same game. With his 42 points, Harden joined Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Kobe Bryant as the only players to have three consecutive 40-point games against the Celtics. With his 36, Westbrook had his third consecutive game scoring at least 36 points while making at least 54 percent of his shots, matching the longest streak since Shaquille O’Neal did it in four straight games in the 1998-99 season.
With Danuel House Jr. getting 17 points and nine rebounds, and Robert Covington filling the stat sheet with 12 points, seven rebounds, three assists and four blocked shots, the Rockets headed to the All-Star break feeling more complete, with greater potential than perhaps at any point this season.
“Other than the Phoenix game, the last (four) games since the trade happened, it’s been pretty good,” Harden said of the time since acquiring Covington in the Clint Capela deal.
“We have to get better communication, (defending) dribble penetration, rebounding. But overall, our effort has been there. It’s going to take some time, but we’re all very, very confident.”
Rarely has the combination of Westbrook and Harden looked more difficult to defend, with Westbrook relentless in attacking the rim and Harden getting just enough of his 3-point touch to balance that with a game-long parade to the line where he made 17 of 18 free throws.
Much of that came from both exploiting the room made available with the use of a range-shooting, floorspacing lineup. Even with the Rockets misfiring on 3s left open by the Boston traps on Harden and zones, making 13 of 45 3-pointers, the Rockets put up 69 second-half points against a team that gives up just 105.7 per game.
“Well, I think (the spacing helps) both of them,” Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said of the small lineups. “I mean, it should. It opens up the floor for them. Both are great drivers and finishers, especially Russell. That’s his game. James has his step-back so whether it’s clogged up, he still has an arsenal he can go to.
“For Russell, it’s really advantageous and it will be for James, too. It makes him really hard to guard. But it also should trickle down to everybody else, too. There should be open shots for Covington and (Ben) McLemore and P.J. (Tucker), and it’ll just keep going on. If we can read it all night, then we’re going to be hard (to beat.) We’ll be really tough.”
The ability to drive more effectively has potentially made the Rockets less dependent on their 3-point shooting. Though they scored just 38 points in the paint on Tuesday, struggling to finish in the first half, that number was limited in part because they drew so many fouls while attacking off the dribble. The Rockets went 37 of 42 from the line, allowing them to put up 116 points while making just 28.9 percent of their 3s.
Much of that is because they are playing a style that so suits Westbrook, while Harden is still free to go one-on-one as often as he pleases.
“I think now that the paint (is open) and five-out is tough to guard us, especially when I’m attacking, making plays and being able to do what I need to do to be effective,” Westbrook said.
With that, the Rockets followed Harden’s left with Westbrook’s right and run away with the win.
“James was great in that stretch and Westbrook was great,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. “Those guys are two of the best in the world and they showed it.”