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Rockets-Thunder Game 2: One for the Misses

By Vince Massara

Apr 16, 2017; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) dribbles the ball against the Oklahoma City Thunder in game one of the first round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 16, 2017; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) dribbles the ball against the Oklahoma City Thunder in game one of the first round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports /
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Through two games, we’ve learned that the Houston Rockets’ firepower is proving to be too much for the one-dimensional Oklahoma City Thunder

It was exactly what we all hoped Rockets vs Thunder would look like. The two standout players from the regular season both having massive nights at their end of the floor. However, it was James Harden’s Houston Rockets that managed to take a 2-0 series lead.

Though, it was anything but easy for the Rockets to take a stranglehold on the series. In the first half of Game 2, they trailed by as many as 15 points, and only gained the lead in the fourth quarter. With another sub-par performance, the Rockets had to come up in the clutch to close out the victory.

Houston’s game-changing 12-3 run came late in the third quarter as Russell Westbrook was taking a brief breather. However, after what seemed like just a minute of game play, Westbrook was rushed back into the game and couldn’t get his usual rest to start the fourth quarter.

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To say the rest of the game didn’t go well would be an understatement. Westbrook shot an atrocious 4-18 from the floor in the fourth, ending OKC’s biggest chance to steal a game in Houston.

“It Wasn’t Pretty”

James Harden told reporters of the ugly nature of the match from the Rocket’s perspective. Harden was quoted saying the match “wasn’t pretty”. He elaborated:

"‘‘We didn’t make a lot of shots. We gave them the early lead and we had to fight our way back and we did. We didn’t give up. We continued to fight and grind and figure out a way to win.’"

Harden, who scored well but was somewhat contained by Andre Roberson, was relentless in attacking the rim which resulted in 20 free throw attempts, as part of his 35 points. To say someone who scores 35 points was “somewhat contained” shows how dangerous Harden can be.

Harden also came up big when it mattered, with two clutch three-pointers late in the game to help peg back the Thunder’s lead.

Bench Press

Along with Harden, the Houston Rockets supporting cast came up big. Lou Williams and Eric Gordon both performed well and each finished 8-14 from the floor. Those two, along with Nene, combined for 50 points and had a plus-41 total rating. To put this in perspective, the Thunder’s bench combined for a mere 24 points.

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    • Eric Gordon, who hit clutch shots late added this after the game:

    "“Down the stretch you’ve just got to be ready,” Gordon said. ”James draws a lot of attention. So I was ready for that shot. It was great timing to knock down a shot like that.”"

    If anything, what this game showed is that if the Thunder want to turn the series around, they can’t keep letting Westbrook log 50-point triple-doubles. Despite the astonishing stat line, it’s a one-dimensional offence that the Rockets can contain.

    Fifty points is an amazing feat. Though, doing it on 43 shots isn’t exactly ideal. In fact, Westbrook played much of that fourth quarter as if he were playing “My Player” on NBA 2K17.

    With the Thunder’s offense going solely through one player, literally everything has to go right. Whilst that was indeed happening in the first half, this Rockets team has too many threats to bank on them all having an off night. The Rockets can afford to have their shooters start poorly as they have in both games, and are still competitive. To put it bluntly, this is bad for the Thunder.

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    Additionally, the Houston Rockets haven’t even played up to their capability yet. Trevor Ariza, and Ryan Anderson both have had disappointing nights in Games 1 and 2, and if they also start firing, this could get even uglier for Westbrook and the Thunder.

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