Double reason to be happy at the Houston Rockets (31-12): James Harden returns after a two-week break – but he doesn’t have to contribute much to the 116:98 win in the top match against Minnesota Timberwolves (29-18). Because Eric Gordon, who has been ordered back to the bank, is out of control.
The Rockets had to forego Gerald Green and Trevor Ariza, who were suspended for two games after the Los Angeles incident. For the normally starting Ariza Luc Mbah a Moute moved into the Starting Five. In addition, James Harden made his comeback after surviving a thigh injury and Eric Gordon was again Sixth Man. Nene (knee) was also available again.
The Wolves were able to get the best start (13:9). The Rockets didn’t hit their threesomes yet, but thanks to a strong defense they stayed behind and finally passed by. They finished the first quarter (26:17) with a 9:0 run – which was completely capped by Gordon (an And-one, two threesomes).
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The second quarter had a similar pattern. At first, the Wolves managed to take the tempo halfway out of the game and the rockets with it their biggest weapon. At the end of the round, however, it was Gordon again – this time in combination with Paul – who initiated the final spurt. His team received many pick-and-roll-plays. The guests couldn’t get a handle on that and were lying in the back with 50:63 for the break tea.
At the start of the second half, the Rockets tried to get Harden into rhythm. But it was precisely in the end that he still lacked the last precision and explosiveness – understandably enough. That’s how the Wolves worked their way back up, especially Karl-Anthony Towns set accents. But that didn’t change the fact that the story of this game was repeated in the third quarter: The Rockets also ended this one with a run. A comfortable 89:70 went into the final section after Gordon had sunk a spectacular Buzzer Beater from his own half.
With a 12:2 run, the Wolves rebounded, but the beard had a great assist and shortly afterwards three transformed free-throwers had a fitting answer. A threesome from Paul in the face of Towns to 99:82 was the early preliminary decision of the game. Afterwards, the guests did not reach less than 9 points.
James Harden played 26 minutes in his comeback and scored 10 points (3/15 FG) and 7 assists. Gordon was unstoppable and hung up 30 points (11/19 FG, 7/13 FG), Chris Paul (19 points, 9 assists) just missed a double-double. At the Wolves, the usual suspects split the points among themselves: Jimmy Butler (23), Towns (22,16 Rebounds, 5 Blocks) and Andrew Wiggins (16).
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Eric Gordon. He was always one step ahead of the Wolves’ defence. He shone once again as a microwave from the bank and started – again and again to the quarter end – private runs. That ultimately pulled the Wolves’ tooth. His mixture of outside- and inside scoring was also strong. It is often forgotten that Gordon can also be an excellent slasher.
Jamal Crawford. He is currently going through a difficult period and couldn’t contribute anything to this game. Thibs sent him to the field for 18 minutes, in which Crawford took 6 litters and missed none of them.
The Rockets kept the Wolves below their average of 108.7 points. Depending on the matchup, they played the “invented” ice version of their opponent’s coach Thibs, played hedge-and-recover and sometimes it was a simple switch. The mobile Bigs Capela, Nene and Tucker make it possible to react accordingly to every 2-on-2.