The Oklahoma City Thunder came into this game down 2-0 in the series. Chris Paul said, “I need to be better” and that’s exactly what happened. Chris Paul delivered tonight in a big way as he was able to finish with 26 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists. Chris Paul was the true leader that we’re used to seeing tonight as he was able to get to his spots and motivate his teammates. Tonight Chris was very aggressive and you can tell he set the tone for the whole OKC Thunder team. When Chris Paul has his offense going it gets his teammates into the game a lot more and it opens up the offense for spacing. The Thunder were able to space the floor a lot better today as they controlled the pace in this one more than Houston did. The lineup that changed the series in my opinion was when Billy Donovan put SGA, CP3, and Schröder in the lineup together.
The 6th Man of the Year candidate Dennis Schröder stepped up in a big way tonight as he was able to beat the Rockets off the mismatches when they had Gordon or House on him. Schröder was able to showcase his offensive talents and had a game-high for the Thunder with 29 points. Schröder brought the energy and was able to give OKC the edge when it came to attacking the rim. Schröder was hitting his floater, attacking the paint, and was hitting his jumper at a consistent rate. When Schröder plays like this the Thunder are hard to beat. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continued his great play as he finished the night with 23 points and none bigger than his 3 pointer in the corner coming off the CP3 dish to bring it to overtime. SGA has found his swagger and put his stamp on this series after that huge shot. SGA has the ability to beat the Houston Rockets off the dribble every time he gets downhill and needs to continue that if the Thunder will be successful.
When all 3 of the OKC guards play this good on a daily basis this Thunder team will be tough to get out. All 3 can control the pace of the game on both the offensive and defensive side. The unsung hero for this game against the Rockets was Lugentz Dort who defended James Harden the best that we have seen in recent memory. Dort was able to make it tough on Harden all night long. Dort is a big body that was able to make Harden’s drives tough and he’s been able to defend without fouling. If Lu Dort can keep this defensive intensity up on Harden it gives OKC a great chance.
(Mike Ehrmann/Pool Photo via AP)
The aggressiveness of OKC got James Harden fouled out at the start of overtime. Harden was able to finish the game with 38 points and he didn’t even have a great outing shooting from the field. The biggest mismatch that has kept the Rockets in control has been the Jeff Green/Steven Adams battle. Every time that Adams gives Jeff Green any space he’s made the Thunder pay and that continued tonight as Green finished with 22 points. The fact that Jeff Green has been able to get good looks inside and outside when he wants is a problem. The Thunder knows that Harden will get his but the fact that other players have been able to hit some big shots throughout the series has hurt OKC. The Thunder will have to expect that James Harden will not get fouled out again and that he will get some calls next game. James Harden said “We let this one slip” so look for Harden to try and get his game going early in Game 4 on Monday. The Rockets missed a lot of 3 pointers tonight that they have hit in the previous two games and the Thunder will need to continue to contest those 3 pointers if they want to make it two wins in a row.
Game 4 will be at 3 PM on Monday as the series is Houston (2-1) right now
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