The Houston Rockets (50-13) didn’t bark at the Oklahoma City Thunder (37-29) either and finished in 16th place. Victory in series. The 122:112 victory (BOXSCORE) was once again won by Backcourt, consisting of Chris Paul and James Harden.
The game started erratically with a few misses and various ball losses. Houston left a lot to be desired at the beginning. The Thunders got their first little cushion, because Carmelo Anthony was aggressive, met his threesome and even unpacked the drive again. With the exception of James Harden, there wasn’t much going on at Houston, who played unusually little Isos. Only after a time-out at the beginning of the second quarter did the distance throws fall, because OKC went into transition several times.
A 12:0 run was the episode before Melo ended it with a jumper. Otherwise, the strong rockets defense approved very little. OKC didn’t come up against the switches and a lot of midrange jumpers came out. There were no points in the zone until 5:10 minutes before the break when Russell Westbrook scored in Transition. So the Thunders only got 45 points to the break, while the Rockets got points in the zone thanks to Harden and used the open threes (8/16 to break) to 54 points.
OKC came out of the cabin improved, especially offensively, because the sets were more creative now and so some free throws could be generated in the zone. But also the rockets stayed hot and answered with an 8-0 run, including two of Chris Paul’s three. 4 minutes before the end of the section Harden picked up his fourth foul at a drive against Paul George, but coach Mike D’ Antoni left his MVP in the game. The lead for the rockets levelled off at around 10 points.
Bit by bit it got even bigger. OKC played a lineup without the Big Three and scored accordingly little. The Thunders tried Hack-a-Capela in the meantime, but that also brought little success. The guests brought home the game on a low flame and lots of free throws (25/29 FT in the fourth quarter) and celebrated 16th place. Victory in a row. The last time the Rockets lost in New Orleans at the end of January, when DeMarcus’ cousins tore their Achilles tendon, that’s how long ago.
The best scorers of the rockets were once again the strong Chris Paul (25 points, 5/5 threesomes) and James Harden (23,11 Assists, 10 TO), and also convinced with Trevor Ariza (15), P. J. Tucker (10) or Eric Gordon (14) also the role-players. For OKC, Westbrook (32.15/27 FG, 7 Assists, 9 Turnover) and Melo (23.8/18 FG) faced defeat, while George (17.7/16 FG) was disappointed. The recently committed Corey Brewer (10) showed good results and could be a great help for the Thunder.
The rockets strengthened their position in the sunshine of the Western Conference, while OKC has to continue to tremble for the playoffs in seventh place. Houston will be back in Milwaukee tomorrow, the Thunder will receive the Phoenix Suns in the night on Friday.
Oklahoma City Thunder (37-29) vs. Houston Rockets (50-13)112:122 (BOXSCORE)
Chris Paul. If Harden often let Harden do the things a Harden does, but when CP3 was needed, he was there. After the break, it looked as if the Thunders could make it exciting again, but Paul turned up with a few threesomes and helped Houston to finish 16th. to celebrate his victory in a row. Even when the Rockets had to give up on Harden for a while because of foul problems, Paul bridged the gap in a hectic game without excitement.
Paul George. Yes, you can’t control a James Harden for more than 48 minutes, but George showed much better performances than today in the Defense. Too easy he let him shake off Picks and was also involved in the fact that poor Melo was repeatedly exposed by Harden. The litter didn’t want to fall for PG-13 either, but he didn’t get any open looks. However, there was a lack of aggressiveness in parts, drives from the ex-pacers star were in short supply up to the fourth quarter. Only when the game was almost over, George collected some points on the ring.
In Andre Roberson the Thunder lacked an important guard defender, so James Harden and Chris Paul had to be stopped in the collective. Mostly OKC Harden tried to push right while Adams rarely left the zone. The Rockets responded in the second quarter and let P. J. leave. Tucker screens for Harden, who mostly got the matchup with Melo. He tried as best he could to keep the bearded man in front of him, but he simply had no chance.