James Harden explodes for 37, pushes Rockets past Thunder for first win
So, like I was saying: there’s no reason at all to worry about James Harden and the Houston Rockets!
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After becoming the first team in NBA history to lose the first three games of a season by 20 points, the Rockets got a much-needed win on Monday, topping the previously unbeaten Oklahoma City Thunder, 110-105, to earn their first victory of the season. And after missing 42 of his first 54 field-goal attempts on the season, Harden exploded against his former club, scoring a game-high 37 points on 12-for-26 shooting — yes, he made as many shots Monday as he had in the season’s first three outings — to go with five rebounds, three assists, three steals, two blocks and two turnovers in 38 1/2 minutes of work.
Harden’s long-distance game still left something to be desired, as he made only four of his 12 tries from 3-point range on Monday. But considering he’d made only three of his first 32 attempts on the season, Rockets head coach Kevin McHale will take it.
McHale’s pedometer might actually be a bit stingy. In addition to the breakout performance that Harden was quite confident was coming, no matter what us nervous nellies might’ve though, Houston got strong outings from several other contributors who’d struggled in starting the season.
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Point guard Ty Lawson, imported this summer for a bag of balls after his problems with alcohol and driving under the influence made him persona non grata in Denver, had his best performance in a Rockets uniform, scoring 14 points on 6-for-10 shooting with 11 assists, five rebounds, four steals, plenty of offensive aggression and some committed defensive work in 37 minutes of floor time. Center Dwight Howard, back in the lineup after scheduled rest on Sunday for his ailing back, chipped in 16 points, eight rebounds, four blocks and two steals in 34 1/2 minutes, and hit two free throws in the closing seconds to seal the victory. Swingman Corey Brewer, who entered the game 9-for-31 from the field on the season, added a more customarily chaotic 12 points on 5-for-11 shooting, three steals, three assists and two rebounds in 22 minutes off McHale’s bench.
While those performances certainly seem like heartening signs for Rockets boosters, it was Harden, the dominating shot creator and playmaker who has served as the engine of the team’s rise to the ranks of Western contenders, whom Houston desperately needed to get going. He finally did, in a major way, and not a moment too soon:
In a turn that’ll make youth coaches smile ear-to-ear, Harden got himself on track by making an impact without scoring in the early going. He fed Marcus Thornton for a corner 3-pointer in the opening minute. He rejected Serge Ibaka at the rim a minute later. He snagged a steal off Russell Westbrook, and grabbed a pair of rebounds. Then, about halfway through the quarter, he took his first stepback jumper, drilling it and finishing with six points in the frame.
“I hit the first two shots and I was like: ‘OK, I’ve got something today,'” he said after the game, according to Kristie Rieken of The Associated Press.
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Even so, Oklahoma City led by five after one, with the dynamic duo of Westbrook and Kevin Durant combining for 20 points on 12 shots. The Thunder, who entered Monday’s action ranked second in the league in points scored per possession behind the defending champion Golden State Warriors, continued to roll in the second, hanging 39 on the Houston D behind hot shooting from Durant (who apparently doesn’t need sneakers to swish), mostly defense-first off-guard Andre Roberson, and reserves Dion Waiters and D.J. Augustin to take a 65-54 lead into intermission, leaving Rockets fans wondering whether the hometown team might be in for a fourth straight bummerific blowout.
And then — perhaps motivated to seek something better after surrendering 65 points for the second straight half of basketball, perhaps just sick and tired of looking sick and tired — the Rockets came to life.
In a shift reminiscent of how Houston followed an embarrassing Game 4 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers in the Western Conference semifinals by crushing L.A. in Game 5 before going on to win the series in seven, the Rockets fell behind by 15 early in the third and started stringing together positive possessions — trips to the foul line, forays into the paint off pick-and-roll penetration, forced misses and turnovers, etc. — and taking advantage of Westbrook sitting on the bench after picking up his fourth foul. The defensive intensity helped cut the deficit to seven by the midpoint of the stanza; Houston took the lead on a Patrick Beverley triple with 61 ticks left in the period, the highlight of a 9-2 quarter-closing run that capped a 28-14 third-quarter double-up and put Houston on top heading into the final 12 minutes.
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The next 10 minutes were played in a phone booth, with neither club able to get more than four points of separation until Harden stroked a 26-foot 3-pointer to put the Rockets up 107-100 with 2:16 remaining in regulation. Nursing a six-point lead in the final minute, Houston went into something of a prevent offense. Knowing that new Thunder head coach Billy Donovan had his club switching high screens, the Rockets kept running 1-2 pick-and-rolls with Lawson and Harden to get the long-armed Durant off Harden and force mismatches, often leading to Harden being guarded by the smaller Westbrook. Harden ragged the clock, stutter-stepped and stepped back, clanging a 3 that led to a Thunder rebound and a quick Westbrook triple that got OKC back within three with 44 seconds remaining.
Houston went back to the run-out-the-clock well on the ensuing possession, creating a final half-minute scramble that gave the Thunder one last chance to knot it up:
When Harden’s second straight stepback 3 missed, though, Oklahoma City couldn’t capitalize. Westbrook raced ahead and fired a 3 that came up empty; Waiters grabbed the long rebound and fed Durant, who took an off-balance try that went awry, leaving no choice but to foul after Howard grabbed the rebound. (Donovan later said he was trying to call a timeout after the offensive rebound to set up a final play call, but that the refs didn’t see him. Hate it when that happens.)
Despite his famous struggles at the stripe, Howard calmly stepped up and knocked down his pair ending the threat. Durant would finish with a team-high 29 points on 9-for-19 shooting with four rebounds, two blocks and five turnovers in 35 minutes. Westbrook added 25 points on 10-for-16 shooting with 11 assists, eight rebounds, two steals and seven turnovers in 32 minutes.
As Rahat Huq noted at Rockets blog Red94, this doesn’t necessarily mean Houston’s out of the woods. Getting Harden and Lawson off the schneid is nice; that third-quarter clampdown is nice; forcing 25 turnovers leading to 21 points is nice. Not giving up 65 points in a half anymore would be even nicer, though, and so would getting the offense humming to the point that you don’t need Harden to pour in 37 to have a fighting chance.
That’s tomorrow’s problem, though. For now, at least, the Rockets have a new lease on life, thanks in large part to their leader finally seeing the ball go through the net.
And now, this long season finally includes James Harden and the Houston Rockets. Welcome, guys. We’ve been expecting you.
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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
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