Rockets win if - They make shots. "That's never gonna change", Harden said at the Rockets' shootaround on Sunday. On Tuesday the Thunder continued to enforce its defensive game plan while accounting for what the Rockets are trying to generate.
They have led their respective teams to the positions they find themselves in, with Westbrook pulling off a record for triple-doubles in a single season and Harden not all that far behind. If the Thunder can't slow the Rockets' second-ranked offense, Westbrook will need to better than ever.
Patrick Beverley should be on bedrest for the rest of the week, if he actually felt pain. Game 1 at the Toyata Center on Sunday was a close game, the one that everyone expected....until it wasn't close anymore.
Thunder guard Russell Westbrook, a co-favorite alongside Harden for MVP honors, tallied 22 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and nine turnovers.
They were tied at halftime and knotted at 88-88 after three quarters. Russell Westbrook, who many believe will win the NBA MVP Award over Harden, scored 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, which was a lone bright spot for OKC in that department.
Kanter being so bad on defense that his presence on the floor becomes untenable looks to be an annual playoff occurrence for the Thunder-remember when he was taken out of the rotation nearly entirely during the Western Conference Finals last season? "It's definitely cool", Westbrook said. We cleaned it up a lot more, bigs and guards. Imagine leading a mercurial team of gunners to 55 wins and the 3rd best record in the National Basketball Association a season after languishing in mediocrity.
Beverley and Westbrook have prior history, so this won't be the last we hear from those two in this series.
The Thunder got nearly no offense from anyone beyond Westbrook and Andre Roberson (18 points).
Pence threatens North Korea with overwhelming response
South Korean government officials said Pence's statement does not necessarily mean a complete overhaul of the agreement. Pence told the ship's captain that he had spoken to President Donald Trump, and Trump "wishes he were here".
Even though the Taj Gibson miss-match wasn't as bad, he had his way with Adams and Kanter when they were left on him. For the Thunder, their bread and butter all season has been in the rebounding department - they pulled down 46.6 of them per game, good for first in the National Basketball Association - but in Game 1, they were roasted 56-41 on that front.
Harden made a pair of free throws to cap the third quarter and leave Houston up 89-74 entering the fourth. James takes every game so seriously, and the playoff are no different. And Westbrook didn't make either of those shots. "He was just Pat tonight".
However, there were things the Rockets can take away from this game as they look to build on it in Game 2 on Wednesday.
"We've been here before", Westbrook said.
INJURY UPDATE: Portland's Jusuf Nurkic (right leg) says he will not play in Game 2. They won one on their homecourt and regardless of if you win by 20, two, 40, it doesn't matter.
"We'll go small", D'Antoni said. The lifelong Rocket has a reputation as a scrappy player, and in Game 1 he did not disappoint.
Both Clint Capela and Nene came to play, with the Swiss Roll finishing with 14 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks, while the Brazilian big man showed how a true vet comes prepared to the dance with 15 points and 5 boards on 7-8 shooting in just 19 minutes of action. "I really don't know what to say to that".
Fourteen-year-old Blake Watts brought the picture he painted of James Harden to his first playoff game, perhaps for good luck.
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