Rockets obliterate Spurs in Game 1, 126-99: 3 takeaways
By John Buhler
The Houston Rockets capsize the San Antonio Spurs 126-99 in Game 1 of the 2017 Western Conference Semifinals. Here are the three big takeaways from Game 1.
It wasn’t even close. The Houston Rockets turned on the boosters and throttled the San Antonio Spurs into oblivion, 126-99. Game 1 of the 2017 Western Conference Semifinals didn’t go as expected. Many expected a tight series between the No. 2 Spurs and the No. 3 Rockets. Instead, we witnessed the Spurs getting shelled on their own floor by an in-state rival on national television.
Houston just did a better job executing their game plan than San Antonio did. The Rockets drained three-pointers, lived at the free throw line and attacked the rim with conviction. San Antonio preferred a slower-paced game, but couldn’t muddy it up enough to contain Houston on Monday night.
Here are the three biggest takeaways from the Rockets’ dominating Game 1 win over the Spurs.
Takeaways
Triple-doubles are dumb, as James Harden is the real NBA MVP. James Harden didn’t really believe in rebounds on Monday night in Game 1. Whatever, he was still by far and away the best player on the floor, one that included Spurs small forward Kawhi Leonard.
Harden set a career playoff-high for assists in a ball game with 14 to go along with his 20 points. He shot the ball decently in Game 1, connecting on 6-13 shooting from the field. However, Harden’s game has finally pivoted to include others and make them better in the process.
His distributive abilities resulted in so many made 3-point field goals from his teammates on drive-and-kicks. Houston sank 44 percent of its attempts from distance to splatter the Spurs on Monday night. Besides, it’s hard to get rebounds when everything everyone is shooting keeps going in.
Could the Spurs look any older? It happened again. Around this time last year, the Spurs started to look very ancient. San Antonio lost in the Western Conference Semifinals to the Oklahoma City Thunder last May. The Spurs haven’t won multiple playoff series in a season since winning it all in 2013-14.
Leonard looks to be the real deal, but his supporting cast is running out of gas. San Antonio may have put up 99 points on the Rockets, but a 27-point blowout loss at home in Game 1 the worst thing that could have happened to the Spurs. It gave the Rockets all the confidence to continue to win with pace and space.
San Antonio wants to play a slower tempo and get into its half-court offense. In a battle of wills the rampant 3-point shooting of Harden, Ryan Anderson, Trevor Ariza, Eric Gordon and Lou Williams clearly won on Monday night. How does Gregg Popovich go about fixing this up-tempo problem? He’ll need to figure it out fast, but the antiquated Spurs look broken.
No touching!, especially if you’re Nene. Houston may have won this game in the first quarter, but the most memorable moment from Game 1 came when the average NBA fan had already turned off the television to go to bed for the night.
Rockets center Nene and Spurs center Dewayne Dedmon were not getting along at all. As the third quarter buzzer sounded, Nene got so riled up that he grabbed Dedmon’s throat right in front of an official. Secaucus, New Jersey decided that Nene would be assessed a double technical and be ejected from the game.
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Nene already knew he was getting tossed, as he put on all of his warmup clothes on the bench before venturing into the catacombs of the AT&T Center. Dedmon didn’t hang around the game for very long after Nene’s departure. He too would be tossed from the game minutes into the fourth quarter. Overall, it was a unnecessary, albeit exciting moment in the blowout win for the Rockets.