Harden and the Houston Rockets Roll Past Oklahoma City Thunder 118-87
James Harden scores 37 points along with Patrick Beverly’s 21 points help them to pull away from the Thunder in the third quarter and take game 1 of the series. Beverly’s 21 point game was a playoff career best, as they outshine Russel Westbrook in Houston.
The Rockets, who are the third seed, were up by 20 points with seven minutes remaining left in the game when Harden came off the bench and went right back to work. He nailed two 3-pointers to help Houston’s 10-0 run which extended their lead to 30. Soon after, Westbrook hit the bench as there was nothing else he could do.
Westbrook scored 22 points in today’s loss and only made 6 of 23 shots with nine turnovers for the Thunder. Not only did they lose, but Westbrook’s performance set him back a little in the MVP race with none other than Harden. Coming into the fourth quarter, the Thunder trailed by 15 points, which marked the beginning of the end for OKC.
The second half proved to be nothing but Houston, as they extended their lead every chance they got, not giving the Thunder enough time to even catch their breath. During the regular season, Houston won 3 of their 4 matchups with OKC, and tonight’s win proved to be no difference given the circumstances.
Hopefully, the Thunder can collect themselves and come back to game 2 stronger and more efficient, because if not they are in some deep trouble.