The Houston Rockets are in the Western Conference semis following a win over the OKC Thunder in Game 7. The final result was 104-102 for Mike D’Antoni’s boys.
James Harden solved this one, yet not offensively with scoring baskets. The Beard blocked Luguenz Dort’s three-point attempt in the finish, with the game on the line.
After that possession, the Rockets’ Covington scored one of his two free throws to set the final result, but OKC still had a chance to hit back. Gallinari was fouled, and had one shot from the line, but he missed it.
Great end of game defense from Houston, another winning play from Westbrook. Gordon denies CP3 and Tucker helps. Westbrook turns to play deny but watch him sell out as Gallinari comes off. Turns to face the ball again and he and Tucker both deflect the pass to Adams flashing. pic.twitter.com/BO9VCiZ3G4
— Steve Jones Jr. (@stevejones20) September 3, 2020
Because the Italian got fouled with the ball still being out of bounds, the OKC had possession once more, but they messed up the inbound-play, and the Rockets took the ball. Russell Westbrook admitted that he knew what play would his old coach Billy Donovan use in this situation.
Westbrook played better than in Game 6, scoring 20 points with nine boards. With Harden struggling the entire match, he, Covington, and Eric Gordon stepped up, all three delivering more than 20 points. The latter two had 21 each, with the note that Covington added 10 boards had three steals and blocks each.
Jeff Green scored 13 off the bench.
As for Harden, he was 4-for-15 from the floor, making just one three in nine attempts, and nine dimes. The Beard was pretty bad in the first three quarters, but managed to hit a few shots in the end.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nNLuSTCGQk
The game was pretty tight, with both sides being close to one another the whole time. The last six minutes were pretty intense with a low number of points and hard defense, and it seems that the Rockets had more focus in this period, which eventually earned them a win.
Dort had 30 points, which is a record for one OKC rookie in the playoffs. He had six threes in 12 attempts, and added four boards. Chris Paul ended the night with a triple-double, 19 points, 12 assists, and 11 rebounds, playing almost perfectly. Shai-Gilgeous Alexader had the same number of buckets, with four assists and three boards, while Dennis Schroder contributed with 12 off the bench, however, with poor shooting from the field, 5-for-17. Steven Adams had 10 baskets with nine rebounds.
Up next, the Rockets face the Los Angeles Lakers in the semis, with the first game taking place this Friday.
