Fansided

Rockets launch into next round with Game 5 win over Timberwolves: 3 takeaways

By Jason Patt

HOUSTON, TX - APRIL 25: James Harden #13 and Chris Paul #3 of the Houston Rockets look on in Game Five of the Western Conference Quarterfinals against the Minnesota Timberwolves during the 2018 NBA Playoffs on April 25, 2018 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Bill Baptist/NBAE via Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TX - APRIL 25: James Harden #13 and Chris Paul #3 of the Houston Rockets look on in Game Five of the Western Conference Quarterfinals against the Minnesota Timberwolves during the 2018 NBA Playoffs on April 25, 2018 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Bill Baptist/NBAE via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Houston Rockets dominated the second half of Game 5 to eliminate the Minnesota Timberwolves and advance to the Western Conference Semifinals.

The Houston Rockets suffered through another sluggish first half against the Minnesota Timberwolves, but the Western Conference’s No. 1 seed responded with a monster second half to earn a 122-104 Game 5 victory. The Rockets closed out the series with the win, and now they await the winner of the series between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Utah Jazz after the Thunder’s miraculous Game 5 comeback on Wednesday.

James Harden and Chris Paul got off to bad starts in Game 5, while the Wolves’ offense had it clicking. Minnesota even went up by 10 points midway through the second quarter on Derrick Rose’s second 3-pointer of the game.

However, the Rockets began to find their groove after that. Minnesota still held a four-point lead at halftime, but Houston exploded for 67 points in the second half to win going away. Harden himself had 19 points and nine assists in the half, with two of his points coming on this thunderous slam:

https://twitter.com/HoustonRockets/status/989343056162906112

The MVP front-runner finished Game 5 with 24 points and 12 assists to give him series averages of 29 points and 7.4 assists per game.

Paul also woke up in the second half to finish with 12 points, nine assists and five rebounds.

Takeaways

The third quarter was déjà vu. The Rockets weren’t quite as dominant as they were in Game 4 when they won the third quarter 50-20, but the third quarter was again where they made their move.

Houston went on a 10-2 run immediately out of the gate. Then after Minnesota took a brief one-point lead, the Rockets went on a 16-2 spurt to effectively decide the game. Houston ultimately won the quarter by 15 points.

The Rockets were lethargic for a decent chunk of this series, but some of that was likely due to them simply not taking the Wolves all that seriously. When they wanted to, Houston put the foot on the gas at both ends and overwhelmed a Minnesota team that struggled against them all year. The Wolves fought admirably in this game, but it didn’t matter against this opponent.

The Rockets’ other guys provided a lift. While Harden and Paul struggled to the tune of seven points on 3-of-16 shooting in the first half, the other guys helped keep the Rockets in the game before they all took off in the second half. Trevor Ariza, P.J. Tucker and Eric Gordon combined to hit seven 3-pointers in the first half, while Clint Capela was dunking all over the place.

Capela wound up leading Houston with 26 points on 12-of-14 shooting. All 12 of those makes came at the rim, with four dunks coming in the fourth quarter alone as the Rockets stunted on the Wolves to finish the game out:

https://twitter.com/HoustonRockets/status/989351350805958659

Tucker scored all 15 of his points from beyond the arc, while Ariza hit four 3-pointers en route to 16 points. Gordon joined all five Rockets in double figures with 19 points. Houston shot 18 of 44 from long distance and only committed five turnovers.

Next: 30 best NBA players who never won a championship

Too little, too late for Karl-Anthony Towns. After two complete duds to start the series, Towns finished off the series strong, although it was obviously not nearly enough to matter. Towns had 23 points on 9-of-14 shooting to go along with 14 rebounds and four assists in Game 5. He was aggressive attacking smaller players in the post and helped the Wolves jump out to their first-half lead.

Although Towns wasn’t as dominant as hoped in this series, this was a good learning experience for him. He’ll need to continue to work on getting stronger and getting better post position in order to attack mismatches down low. He also needs to do a better job avoiding lulls when he’s not involved offensively, and the defense is still a work in progress.

Despite the series result, this was a successful season for Towns and the Wolves. They made it to the playoffs for the first time since 2004, and they even won a game in dominant fashion. With Jimmy Butler back healthy for next season (he battled through several ailments in this series) plus another year of development for Towns and Andrew Wiggins, Minnesota should be in position to take another step.

Home/NBA Playoffs