The Oklahoma City Thunder made the proper adjustments after struggling in Game 1. Tonight you can tell the Thunder came out with a lot more energy and were locking up defensively. The addition of Lugentz Dort back to the starting lineup helped out big time. The defense that Dort played on James Harden was as good as it gets. Dort was able to defend Harden using his length and his body so he wasn’t giving up any position to Harden. On the night James Harden finished with 21 points on 5/16 shooting from the field. James Harden wasn’t getting the usual calls that would put him on the line as he only attempted 9 free throws. Dort was a huge boost to this team and you can tell that his presence helped other players to be able to get their offense going as well. One of the players that was able to apply pressure to the Rockets defense all night was Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as he finished with a playoff career-high 31 points. Shai was aggressive from the tip-off and didn’t look back at all. This was the most emotional that was seen from SGA in a long time. You can tell he made it a mission to be able to put the team on his back with his offense and it worked. Shai was hitting stepback 3 pointers and was going in for some of those tough finishes.
The Thunder played a great game overall as they played their pace throughout the game. In Game 1 the Thunder got caught playing Houston Rockets ball and through 3 quarters the Thunder were in the driver seat with the momentum. Both Gallinari and Schröder were able to contribute to helping SGA on the scoring end as they both combined for 30 points. The two biggest mismatches that OKC tried to execute on in the 1st half was Steven Adams and Danilo Gallinari. OKC has the height advantage and they need to stick to their game plan and it seemed as though they got away from it in that 4th quarter. Chris Paul postgame said that he needs to do better heading into Game 3 and OKC will definitely need his big game. This OKC Thunder team is unstoppable when the 3 headed monsters of Chris Paul, Dennis Schröder, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander all play well. The Thunder will need to come out in Game 3 on Saturday and punch them in the mouth first.
The Thunder were able to slow down James Harden in this game. It seemed as though every time Harden went to the bench his teammates stepped up big time. Tonight Daniel House was able to drop 19 points and he added 9 rebounds. The Rocket’s small ball worked today as they were able to get a lot of second-chance points off offensive rebounds. It looked like each loose ball just bounced out to a shooter and House was one of those people that benefited. House was hitting 3 pointers and he was able to have his defense help his offense with some easy buckets. The Rockets had 7 players in double figures and they were able to hit big shots in big moments. Austin Rivers came out with some extra juice and had 11 big points during a moment in the game when Harden was in foul trouble.
Eric Gordon and Jeff Green have been playing out of their minds. Any time the Thunder miss out on a switch or get out to the player too slow it seemed as though Green and Gordon made them pay. Both of them combined for 30 points for the Rockets and they held it down for Harden as he was on the bench. The Rockets bench has stepped up in this series as they’ve been able to score points and hang with OKC with Harden resting. This victory just shows that type of confidence that Houston has been playing with and this has been without Russell Westbrook. James Harden got it going in the 4th quarter but his teammates were able to help him out big time. It was tough for Dort to guard Harden with foul trouble and late in that 4th it didn’t matter who was guarding him. The Houston Rockets had broken the record for most 3 pointers attempted and made in a playoff game. Tonight Westbrook was coaching his teammates on the sideline and encouraging them with unlimited energy. The Rockets small ball has been working but if OKC can get a game from all 3 of their star point guards at once this series can change real quick.
Game 3 will be on Saturday at 5 pm as the Thunder look to claw back into this series.
Kevin C. Cox/Associated Press
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