Rockets take 3-1 lead on Thunder: 3 takeaways from Game 4

The Houston Rockets now own a 3-1 lead in their best-of-seven series with the Oklahoma City after a wild game on Sunday afternoon. Here’s a few takeaways from Game 4.

How’s your heart rate, everybody? In a wild Game 4 at Chesapeake Energy Arena, the Houston Rockets used a 40-point fourth quarter to steal a 113-109 victory on the road and now have a commanding 3-1 lead on the Oklahoma City Thunder in this best-of-seven first-round matchup.

As they’ve done in all four games, the Thunder came out hot, taking a double-digit lead in the first quarter for the third consecutive game. But as they tend to do, the team struggled without Russell Westbrook on the floor and the Rockets clawed their way back into it with a 7-0 run, cutting the deficit to four after the first. James Harden struggled early from the floor, not hitting his first field goal until the 1:20 mark in the opening period and not hitting his next one until the 4:30 mark in the second.

Russell Westbrook, on the other hand, was brilliant in the first half, notching his third consecutive triple-double as time expired in the first half. He put up 17 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds in the first 24 minutes and became just the second player in NBA history, and the first since Wilt Chamberlain in 1967, to have three consecutive triple-doubles in the playoffs. The Thunder defense was also magnificent with 14 blocks in the first half but they could never pull away and took that same four-point lead into the locker room.

Oklahoma City came out with a 12-2 run to open the third but the Rockets refused to go away and came back with 10 straight points while the Thunder went cold, going nearly five minutes without scoring. It was a very low-scoring quarter for both teams as they each put up 19 points. Harden continued to struggle, putting up just four points in the quarter but he got a lot of help from his teammates all afternoon. Russell Westbrook also went cold and didn’t put up a single point in the third but the Thunder maintained and took a 77-73 lead into the fourth.

And then the Rockets decided it was time to take charge. Patrick Beverley tied the game at 79 with a 3-pointer and Harden also found his touch, scoring eight big points in the final frame, including a huge jumper from the top of the key with 41.8 seconds remaining to give the Rockets a five-point lead, a lead they never gave away during the crazy finish. Russell Westbrook, who didn’t score his first points of the second half until there were nine minutes remaining in the game, hit a long 3-pointer after an intentionally-missed free throw from Steven Adams and nearly got a steal on the ensuing inbounds pass (and yes, James Harden clearly pushed off on that play) but they just couldn’t get it done and the Rockets are now heading home with a 3-1 series lead and a chance to put an end to Oklahoma City’s season.

In the battle of the MVP candidates, James Harden finished with 16 points on 5-for-16 shooting and added 7 rebounds and 8 assists. Russell Westbrook put up 35 points, but shot just 10-for-28 from the floor and made a few poor shot choices in the fourth, and added 14 assists and 14 rebounds.

Here’s what stood out to me in Game 4.

Takeaways

The Rockets have so many weapons. James Harden obviously struggled on Sunday afternoon. He only had eight points in the first three quarters and yet, the Rockets were able to stay in the game because of some great play from his supporting cast. Patrick Beverley struggled for the second game in a row but Trevor Ariza had easily his best game of the series, scoring 14 points on 4-for-8 shooting and the bench came through in a big way. Nene scored a team-high 28 points, going an incredible 12-for-12 from the field and iced the victory with a late free throw for the final point of the game. Lou Williams and Eric Gordon were clutch once again. Both scored 18 points and both hit some big shots in big spots. The Houston bench outscored their counterparts by 40 points, 64-24, and were the biggest reason the Rockets are going back to the Toyota Center with a 3-1 lead.

This is the Steven Adams that the Thunder have been looking for. In the first three games of this series, Thunder center Steven Adams scored a total of 15 points and was simply a non-factor. But I was very impressed with his performance in Game 4. The New Zealander played much more aggressively on Sunday on the defensive end, especially in the first half, altering shots in the lane and getting three of the team’s 14 blocks. He was much better on the offensive side of the ball as well, shooting 8-for-10 from the floor for 18 points and also adding seven rebounds, four of them coming on the offensive end. With Enes Kanter not getting a ton of minutes in this series and the combination of Clint Capela and Nene playing quite well, Adams will need another performance like this in Tuesday night’s Game 5 to keep the Thunder from going home for the summer.

This series is over. As much as it pains me to say that as I could watch these two teams go at it in a best-of-99 and not get tired of it, I really do think that Houston closes this thing out on Tuesday night. The Thunder had this game in the palm of their hand and were so close to tying this series up and then they just let it slip away. It has to be a demoralizing loss for Billy Donovan but he was just out-coached in Game 4. His decision to keep Andre Roberson, who outside of his free throw shooting has been terrific in this series, on the floor when Mike D’Antoni decided to play Hack-A-Roberson (is that a thing?) was quite confusing. And it has to be just as demoralizing for Oklahoma City players.

It’s obvious that Westbrook was upset after the game as he snapped on a reporter in his post-game interview and they all just looked defeated when the final buzzer sounded. They gave it all they had and it still wasn’t enough. The Houston crowd is going to be crazy on Tuesday night and I don’t think the Thunder will be able to save their season. Again, I’m hoping they do as I love watching these two teams go at it but I think the Rockets close it out in Game 5.

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