THUNDER JOURNAL
Raining threes
The Rockets attempted an NBA playoff record 56 3- pointers Thursday in their 111-98 win against the Thunder. Their 35 3-point attempts in the first half also set a playoff record.
Houston only converted 34% of its long- range attempts — the same percentage as Oklahoma City — but volume was on the Rockets' side.
Seven Rockets made multiple 3-pointers. P.J. Tucker was a perfect 4-of-4.
James Harden and Eric Gordon combined to shoot 2-of-21 from 3-point range.
The Rockets attempted 52 3-pointers in Game 1, a record amount by a Thunder playoff opponent. That record stood for just two days.
SGA returns to form
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was back on the attack after a quiet Game 1.
The second-year guard led the Thunder with 31 points on 9-of-17 shooting for his playoff career high in scoring. It came after Gilgeous-Alexander attempted just eight shots for nine points in a Game 1 loss.
“He played a great game,” Thunder coach Billy Donovan said. “It was great to see him aggressive. He was really getting into the lane and creating a lot of shots for himself and others.”
The Thunder outscored the Rockets by seven points with Gilgeous-Alexander on the floor. Forward Danilo Gallinari was the only Thunder player with a better plus/minus.
Valuing the ball
The Rockets went into the locker room at halftime with zero turnovers on their stat sheet.
Houston committed seven turnovers in the second half, but that was well under their season average of 14.7 turnovers per game.
The Thunder turned the ball over 13 times, with four a piece from Dennis Schroder and Steven Adams.
Quotable
Thunder rookie Darius Bazley on his first playoff experience:
“My first time, I thought it was pretty good. Obviously I wanted a different outcome than the one we had, but just the intensity … everything is just kind of amplified a little bit. My teammates, my coaches, the opposing team, everything is from an eight to a 10. It means that much more. Every possession matters that much more. That's the biggest difference that I can feel.”