The Thunder led the National Basketball Association in rebound percentage (53.4), yet managed only a plus-1.8 rebounding margin against the Rockets.
Andre Roberson shot 24.6 percent on three-pointers during the regular season. Westbrook became the first player to average a triple-double over an entire season since former player Oscar Robertson did so in the 1961-62 season. Washington, Houston and Golden State all saw ways they can get better in Game 2. James Harden might be the the NBA MVP, but Sunday night? Westbrook had twice as many turnovers (four) as field goals (two) following the intermission, taking a seat for good at the 4:14 mark of the fourth quarter with Houston leading 110-80. The dude just brings it. 1 down, 15 to go.
Game two is Tuesday night at Toyota Center.
Harden said after the Houston Rockets' 118-87 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday evening in Game 1 of their Western Conference first-round playoff series.
This game was tied at 88 going into the fourth quarter.
Harden, the other MVP candidate in this heavyweight showdown, scored 37 points and created 59. "It's definitely cool", Westbrook said. "He's one of the most explosive guards in this league, so we were just trying to make it tough on him".
Westbrook did not have much of a supporting cast in the series opener. Victor Oladipo made 1-of-12 shots in his playoff debut. Beverley dished out a few nice assists as well and also grabbed 10 rebounds, which was actually two more than Adams, Enes Kanter and Taj Gibson....combined.
Leading the Rockets is James Harden, who this season almost averaged a triple-double with 29.1 points per game with 11.2 assists per game and 8.1 rebounds per game.
Buffett's Berkshire, Chinese property portal Juwai.com team up
The website , which is accessible from both inside and outside China, has around 2 million visitors per month. It also has a network of more than 375 franchisees with over 46,000 agents.
Houston scored the next nine points, capped by consecutive three-pointers by Beverley to make it 73-64 midway through the period. Sure, the stat line of 22 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists looks nice but he shot just 6-for-23 from the floor and really only got going for a short time there in the second quarter. Every game that's my mindset. "A lot of energy, hit a lot of shots, made plays". The players from the Thunder walked in the opposite direction, deflated, knowing they must regroup for Game 2 on Wednesday.
"We were so locked in all week", Butler said. It compounds his tendency to play erratically in big games. "We had Sam (Dekker, who is out with a fractured left hand) back then".
With that being said, here are some key takeaways from Game 1.
What we regularly forget is that Patrick Beverley chose to play in Ukraine at the age of 20, takes pain like Tylenol, and in all likelihood can sneeze with his eyes open. During this year's All-Star Game festivities, both were inseparable.
"I was like: 'Pat, I don't know what you want me to do here, man".
Roberson feels the same way about Harden. Sorry, I said I would move on.
It was a home crowd excited for the start of what they hope is a long trip through the playoffs.
Comments