Thunder spoils chance as Lu Dort limits James Harden
Luguentz Dort summed up his game in the most simple of ways.
“I'm just doing my job” Dort said, “and watching film and just listening to my coaches.”
But defending James Harden isn't that easy.
Dort didn't make it look easy Thursday afternoon. He had to fight through screens, not bite on pump fakes, not foul on drives and not lunge against Harden's signature stepback 3-pointer.
Dort battled for 25 minutes against the former MVP and three-time scoring champion, limiting Harden to 21 points on 5-of16 shooting.
But even after Dort's heroic effort, the Rockets still took a 2-0 series lead with a 111-98 win over the Thunder.
It's an ominous sign for Oklahoma City that Houston, without Russell Westbrook and with an off game from Harden, could tally another double-digit victory.
“You can't ask our guys to do any more than they did tonight,” Chris Paul said of the Thunder's defense. “We put ourselves in position.”
The game ball would've been waiting in Dort's locker had the Thunder won.
“I thought he gave great effort,” coach Billy Donovan said. “He worked his tail off the entire time he was out there. He tried to make it as hard as he could. I thought our whole team did a really good job of trying to make it as hard as we could on James.
“Listen, (Harden) didn't have a great first half and maybe our defense had something to do with that, or part of the reason, but also I've seen him make very, very difficult shots with defenders hanging all over him. But I thought Lu's effort, and how hard he worked and his level of discipline was terrific considering he had missed some time.”
After sitting out Game 1 due to a right knee sprain, Dort said he felt good in practice Wednesday night, good enough to give it a go Thursday in Game 2.
“It's definitely not easy to come back from an injury,” Dort said, “but I was on top of my treatment and the trainers really helped me a lot.”
Dort moved back in the starting lineup in place of Terrance Ferguson, who didn't play at all Thursday. Dort predictably drew the start against Harden.
It was a fitting matchup for Dort.
The undrafted rookie guard earned his first career regular season start Jan. 20 against the Rockets. His first career playoff start came exactly seven months later against Harden's Rockets.
Harden, in two games with Dort primarily opposing him, has shot 14-of-45 (31%) overall and 3-of-28 (11%) from 3-point range.
Harden dished nine assists Thursday as Dort relegated him to a passer.
“Lu was amazing,” Paul said. “He tried to make it as tough on James as possible. He did a great job of keeping his hands back without fouling, except for a couple here and there they're gonna call. Otherwise, Lu was amazing tonight and it was great to have him back.”
Dort had to be subbed out in the fourth quarter as the Thunder fell into a 15-point hole.
His defense is valuable, but Dort's offensive game is still raw and not conducive to making a comeback.
Dort, having shown shooting improvements in the bubble, shot just 3-of10 and 2-of-8 from behind the arc.
The Thunder will need Dort to repeat his defensive performance in Game 3 to avoid an insurmountable hole.
But against Harden, that's far from expected.
Dort did his job Thursday,
just like he said, but the Thunder spoiled its chance.