Harden pours in 42, Rockets take 3-0 lead with shootout victory
Houston holds on late to push Mavericks to brink
DALLAS — Houston Rockets coach Kevin McHale rattled off the stats of his star guard and Most Valuable Player candidate James Harden after the Rockets held off the Dallas Mavericks 130-128 to take a 3-0 lead in their first-round Western Conference series Friday.
“There is really not much else I can say,” McHale said. “I have seen it a lot this year. The guy played fantastic. It was a big game, we needed him to play well, and he did. He stepped up.”
NBA PLAYOFFS
Harden scored a career-playoff-high 42 points and dished out nine assists to lead the Rockets to the brink of the Western Conference semifinals. Houston can close out the best-of-7 series with a victory Sunday in Game 4 at Dallas.
Houston trailed by 13 in the first half before storming back behind Harden, who scored 16 in third quarter and knocked down a jumper with 13 seconds left that helped nail down the win. He made 15 of 24 shots, including 5 of 7 from 3-point territory, to better his previous postseason high of 37 points set last year.
“This game there were no traps or anything like that,” Harden said. “They were just giving me lanes. They were letting me be aggressive. I shot it and read the plays and try to make the best decisions.”
Rockets center Dwight Howard pulled down a playoff-career-best 26 rebounds and scored 13 points. His childhood friend, forward Josh Smith, had 18 points off the bench.
“We had three good games and we have to close this team out,” Howard said. “It’s tough to beat a team four times, and we just have to stay the course. We can’t allow these first three games to dictate on how we play this last game. We have to come out and hit them early and try to put them away and not give them any light.”
The Mavericks, buoyed by playing in front of their home fans for the first time in the series, now face the seemingly impossible task of winning four straight games to advance.
No team in NBA history has come back to win a series after falling behind 3-0.
The Mavericks had their chances in the final minute. Forward Dirk Nowitzki (34 points) drilled three free throws with 34 seconds remaining to pull Dallas within 127-126.
Harden followed with his final basket before Dallas guard Monta Ellis banked in a driving layup to make it a one-point game again. Rockets reserve guard Corey Brewer (15 points) made one of two free throws, giving Dallas one last shot.
Ellis, however, couldn’t add to the highest scoring game of his playoff career as he missed a jumper badly from the top of the key as time expired. Ellis finished with 34 points on 15-of-25 shooting.
■ Wizards 106, Raptors 99 — At Washington, center Marcin Gortat scored 24 points and guard John Wall had 19 points and 15 assists as the Wizards took a 3-0 lead over Toronto in their first-round Eastern Conference series.
Six Wizards scored in double figures, including forward Paul Pierce with 18 points on four 3-pointers.
Pierce and Otto Porter fueled a decisive 10-2 run late in the fourth quarter, and both forwards sank two 3-point shots inside the final 4:23. Pierce’s final bomb with 16.9 seconds left came after the Raptors pulled within 102-99.
One of two lower seeds to win on the road in the postseason, Washington claimed Games 1 and 2 in Toronto. The Wizards have never led a series 3-0 in franchise history. They can close out the series Sunday in Washington.
Toronto’s DeMar DeRozan started 8 of 10 from the field and scored 20 of his 32 points in the first quarter. However, the shooting woes that plagued him and backcourt partner Kyle Lowry in Toronto returned. The Raptors shot 37.4 percent from the field.
With the teams tied at 88 with 4:23 left, Porter’s 3-pointer put Washington up for good. His breakout series continued with another confident 3-pointer, and Pierce added one from beyond the arc for a 9890 lead with 1:58 remaining.