Skip to main content

Tag: Rockets

Hard work didn’t pay off for 4-seeded Houston entering playoffs

Written by Cody Daniels on . Posted in NBA.

At some point in life, you’ve likely heard the encouraging phrase, “Hard work pays off.” Try telling that to the Houston Rockets, though, and your positive preaching will fall on deaf ears. The hard work the James Harden-led Rockets put forth throughout the previous handful of weeks quite literally produced the best post-All-Star-break record in the entire NBA, with Houston boasting a 20-5 effort since Feb. 21; a stretch that featured a nine-game winning streak and a mind-boggling 10.7 net rating.

What rewards did that hard work reap?

Just a handful of days ago, it appeared the answer to that end would be a 2 Seed in the Western Conference Playoffs, and thus, a homecourt edge through at least the first two rounds, should Houston continue to advance. Then, of course, a last-second loss to Oklahoma City in Houston’s regular-season finale ripped the Rockets’ destiny from their own hands. Nevertheless, entering the final evening the regular season, last Wednesday, Houston needed just one domino to fall in its favor for all to remain well — for either Portland or better yet, Denver, to lose to Sacramento and Minnesota, respectively.

Had Denver dropped its regular-season finale, the Rockets would have solidified the 2 Seed from home. The Nuggets went on to sneak past the Timberwolves, 99-95. Portland still remained, though, and a Trailblazers loss would have still seen Houston secure a 3 Seed. Portland, too, outlasting the Kings, 136-135, forcing Houston to watch helplessly as it fell from the 2 Seed to the 4 Seed within a matter of hours.

What now awaits is a 5-seeded Utah Jazz squad that enters the postseason nearly as hot as Houston, owning the third-best post-All-Star-break record (18-7) after winning 13 of their last 16 games.

Houston Rockets’ James Harden (13) drives past New York Knicks’ Noah Vonleh (32) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2019, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

The less than ideal matchup doesn’t mark the end of the world for Houston, as the Rockets, of course, cruised past the Jazz in the second round of the playoffs last season, 4-1. This Jazz team, however, is better than last year’s edition, bolstered by the second-most efficient defense in the NBA with a rating of 105.2.

Even beyond the Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert-led Jazz, though, should Houston once again advance beyond Utah, what will quite likely await given that Houston fell to the 4 seed is the back-to-back defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors. As last season revealed, the Rockets can certainly stand toe-to-toe with Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson and the rest of Golden State’s collection of All-Star-caliber talents, as Houston fell just one quarter short of upsetting the Warriors in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals.

But nevertheless, even with MVP candidate James Harden spearheading a potent offense, it’s a potential matchup Houston would have loved to avoid; and that’s if the Rockets top a 50-win Utah squad.

Hard work pays off, huh?

On Basketball: Will Harden’s run end when he gets help?

Written by Russell Dowden on . Posted in NBA.


By TIM REYNOLDS, AP Basketball Writer
This play midway through the fourth quarter of James Harden’s historic effort at Madison Square Garden was largely reminiscent of what the Houston Rockets’ offense has looked like lately:

He got the ball.
He kept it for 16 seconds.
He dribbled it 21 times.
He shot.
He scored.


What Harden has done in his last five games — 261 points, 52.2 points per game, zero assisted by a teammate — is astounding by any measure. He’s averaged 43.1 points in his last 21 games, keeping Houston in the thick of the Western Conference playoff race. The Rockets have alternated wins and losses in each of their last 10 games, despite Harden’s greatness of late.
Earlier this month, Houston guard Austin Rivers described the Rockets’ playbook like this to Sports Illustrated: “James Harden. Just get the (bleep) out of his way. Let him do the heavy lifting.”


That philosophy should be coming to an end before long.
Rockets point guard Chris Paul will be back soon from his latest tale of hamstring woe, maybe even as early as Friday against Toronto. When that happens, Harden will no longer have to take on so much of the scoring load.
His numbers should dip.


The Rockets should rise because of that, strange as it sounds. Fantasy players won’t like it so much, but for Houston, it’s vital.
Over the last five games, Harden has scored 44 percent of Houston’s points, taken 35 percent of its field-goal tries, attempted 57 percent of its free throws. It’s simultaneously a Herculean and unsustainable undertaking, and when Paul comes back Harden should get some relief — and take it happily.


“Whatever it takes to win,” Harden said, repeating a familiar refrain.
Houston was at its best last year — remember, the Rockets did have the NBA’s best record and was probably a hamstring strain by Paul away from winning the NBA title — when Harden was great and part of a system. He’s been the entire system, or so it has seemed, since Paul got hurt in Miami a few weeks ago. On the play where he dribbled 21 times against the Knicks on Wednesday, three of his four teammates basically stood around and watched, while a fourth thought about setting a screen that wasn’t going to get used anyway.


“He’s such a good scorer,” Orlando’s Nikola Vucevic said earlier this month of Harden. “You have to stay aggressive but you can’t foul him. He’s going to score. You’re not going to stop him. He has the ball so much and they run everything for him.”


Soon, they might not have to run so much for him. A lot, yes. But not everything. And if the Rockets are going to emerge from the West, that’s the way it’ll need to be.


This run has probably lifted Harden back atop the MVP race. He’s as close to a lock to be the scoring champion as one can be in January — he leads Anthony Davis by 7.0 points per game. Harden’s average of 36.3 points is the highest since Michael Jordan averaged 37.1 points in 1986-87, and his lead over the No. 2 scorer is the league’s largest gap since Jordan outscored Dominique Wilkins by 8.1 points for that ’86-87 title.


“Everybody wants to do different schemes on him to try to slow him down and he still scores,” Rockets forward P.J. Tucker said. “It really doesn’t matter. I think it’s just up to us to try to figure out the spots we want to get into.”


Harden scored a career-high 61 points against the Knicks on Wednesday night, one of the most memorable performances at Madison Square Garden. The Rockets needed darn near every one of them, as they eked out a four-point win. And Harden often went it alone, single-handedly bringing back the iso ball scheme that hasn’t really been part of today’s wide-open, five-out NBA.


It’s been great fun to watch.
It’ll be better for Houston when normalcy returns.

More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Sponsored by The Lodge Poker Club: The largest club in central Texas, you’ll love our fun and inviting atmosphere outfitted with 20 tables fully equipped with charging stations for your laptop, phones or tablets. With over 30 big screen TV’s, you can watch your favorite teams while playing or lounging in our comfortable waiting area.

Harden the Paint

Written by Russell Dowden on . Posted in NBA.

Harden scores 48 points, Rockets beat Lakers 138-134 in OT
By KRISTIE RIEKEN, AP Sports Writer


HOUSTON (AP) — James Harden was the star for the Houston Rockets as usual on Saturday night, but he and the team got a big boost from Eric Gordon in his second game back after recovering from a bruised knee.
Harden scored 48 points, Gordon added 30 and the Rockets overcame a 21-point deficit to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 138-134 in overtime.
The Rockets trailed for most of the night and were down by 18 in the second-half. Gordon sent it to overtime with a 3-pointer, and made four free throws in the last seconds of the extra period.


“He’s playing unbelievable,” coach Mike D’Antoni said of Gordon.
Coming off 57- and 58-point games, Harden had his 19th straight game with at least 30 and he’s had 40 in 10 of the last 13. He was 14 of 30 from the field, going 8 of 19 on 3-pointers, and hit 12 of 15 free throws.
Harden was asked if Gordon being back after missing eight games before his return on Wednesday night eased the burden on him a little bit.
“A little bit? It takes a lot of burden off me,” Harden said. “He’s so offensively gifted and talented being able to shoot the basketball, being able to get to the rim, being able to make plays for others. You get a guy like that on the floor with you it makes it easier for not only myself but for everybody.”


Brandon Ingram missed a 3 for Los Angeles before Harden hit 1 of 2 free throws to make it 132-130 with less than a minute left. Ingram tied it with a basket, and Harden again made 1 of 2 free throws to make it 133-132.
Los Angeles missed a 3 before Gordon also made just 1 of 2 free throws to leave Houston up by two with 12.6 seconds left. Kyle Kuzma lost the ball and it went out of bounds to give Houston the ball back. Gordon added four free throws after that to secure the victory.


It was the second straight overtime game for both teams after Houston lost to Brooklyn on Wednesday night and Los Angeles beat Oklahoma City on Thursday night.

Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) drives to the basket as Los Angeles Lakers center Tyson Chandler defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 19, 2019, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith)


Kuzma had 32 points for Los Angeles and Ingram added 21 in a game where coach Luke Walton was ejected in the third quarter.
Already without LeBron James and Rajon Rondo, the Lakers have another injury concern after Lonzo Ball sprained his left ankle in the third quarter. Walton said his X-rays were negative but that he’d have an MRI and “we’ll see where we are after that.”


Four straight points by the Lakers stretched the lead to nine in the fourth quarter, but Harden and Gordon made consecutive 3-pointers cut it to 112-109 with about two minutes remaining.


Los Angeles made four free throws to make it 116-109 about a minute later, but Harden made two 3-pointers around a basket by Ivica Zubac to get Houston within three with about 30 seconds left.
Lance Stephenson missed a 3-pointer and Harden made two free throws to cut the lead to 118-117 with 5.7 seconds left.


Zubac made two more free throws before Gordon’s off-balance 3-pointer with 2 seconds left sent it to OT.


“I saw Kentavious Caldwell-Pope running out to me and I thought he was going to fly right by me, but he stood right there,” Gordon said. “So I had to try to shoot it with confidence and I’m glad it went in.”
The Lakers built a huge lead early and were up 64-46 at halftime, with Kuzma scoring 24 points.


They were ahead by 17 with about eight minutes left in the third quarter after scoring five straight points capped by a basket from Kuzma before Houston scored the next 15 points to cut it to 74-72 three minutes later. James Ennis had five points in that stretch and P.J. Tucker capped it with a 3-pointer.


Ball was injured just before Houston’s run began. He remained on the court for a couple of minutes talking with trainer’s before he was helped to his feet where he hopped on his right foot for a few steps before being carried off the court and to the locker room by Stephenson and Michael Beasley.
Walton was ejected a couple of minutes after that when he got two technical fouls after yelling at officials during a timeout.
Ingram pointed to losing Ball as when things started to get away from the Lakers.


“Right when Lonzo went out,” he said. “That’s exactly when it went away. We lost momentum a little bit.”


TIP-INS
Lakers: James was out for the 13th straight game with a strained left groin and did not make the trip. … Stephenson finished with 16 points.
Rockets: Harden also had eight rebounds, six assists and four steals. … Ennis returned after missing Wednesday’s game after cutting his left leg in a fall at his house. … Chris Paul missed his 14th game in a row with a strained left hamstring … Clint Capela had surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right thumb and is expected to be out 4-6 weeks.


THEY SAID IT
D’Antoni on Houston’s comeback: “Words don’t do it. That was just our guys showing a lot of heart.”


UP NEXT
Lakers: Host Golden State on Monday night.
Rockets: Visit Philadelphia on Monday night.

More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports