Spurs vs Rockets, Triple Overtime!
Somehow, James Harden’s breakaway slam, put in after he waited for the guy mopping the floor to get out of the way, did not count after it worked its way around the rim and nearly back in again.
At the time, however, the Rockets still led by 13 and had led the Spurs by as much as 22. One bucket did not seem likely to matter on Tuesday. The Rockets, however, never could slow the Spurs again, never could make the buckets with the lead to secure the win, falling 135-133 in double overtime.
The Rockets and Spurs headed into the final minute of the second overtime tied. Harden put in a pair of free throws, giving him 50 points and the Rockets a two-point lead, before DeMar DeRozan made 1 of 2 with 30 seconds left
Harden drove to try to ice the win, but Jakob Poeltl blocked his shot, his third block of a Harden drive late in the game, and with 3.3 seconds left, DeRozan returned to the line. He made both attempts for a one-point lead.
When Harden was called for a charge, running over Rudy Gay with .8 left, the Rockets were out of last chances. Lonnie Walker IV made one free throw with .3 left to finish the win.
Leading by 16 after Harden dropped in a 3-pointer immediately after his fourth-quarter dunk did not count, the Rockets seemed to have scored just enough to secure the win.
Walker, who would score 19 fourth-quarter points, brought the Spurs to within seven with 3:44 left.
Russell Westbrook put in a jumper, but after Harden missed a 3, falling to 4 of 16 from deep, and Westbrook had a drive blocked, Bryn Forbes sank a corner 3 to cut the lead to six heading to the last two minutes.
The Rockets finally seemed to have done just enough to hold off the Spurs, with Harden making two free throws for an eight-point lead with 1:46 left. But after a Brynn Forbes 3, Walker got free on a break and then put in consecutive 3s, scoring eight points in the final 68 seconds to tie the game.
Harden twice missed 3s and when he went to the rim, Poeltl blocked his shot with .8 left. When a last Spurs heave at the buzzer missed, the Rockets found themselves in overtime of a game they had seemed to have sewn up much earlier.
The Spurs, however, had scored 20 points in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter before, having not led by more than two, surged to a five-point lead with 2:18 left.
Clint Capela made a pair of free throws and Harden followed with a drive to a three-point play to tie the game. But by then, the Rockets were rarely getting stops.
Forbes and Westbrook traded buckets at the rim, before DeRozan missed from nine feet. Harden went to the rim, but Poeltl blocked his shot again. When Harden’s runner at the buzzer, but missed, sending the game to a second overtime.
For much of the game, the Rockets could not find their usual offense, but did not need it. They scored anyway, but in a sign of what was to come, when the Rockets predictably got rolling in a 38-point second-quarter, they did not get much separation, barely emerging with a 63-59 halftime lead.
They did find their 3-point touch for the most part. After making 1 of 9 3-pointers in the first quarter, the Rockets sank 8 of 15 in the second quarter, even with Harden just 1 of 6 in the first half.
He made up for that by living at the line, hitting all 15 attempts in the first half, more than his league-leading average. It might have shown something about the Rockets’ offensive weapons that Harden and Westbrook could be 5 of 22 in the first half and the Rockets could still put up 63 points.
Still, the Rockets led largely because the Spurs took the same number of free throws as Harden and missed five of theirs.
For all the Spurs’ issues defensively, they can be an efficient offensive team. But they made 57.1 percent of their shots in the second quarter, scoring 22 points in the paint.
The Rockets briefly led by 11, but seemed surprised to find the Spurs on their heels for so long.
That was nothing, however, compared to the shock when they could not dunk the Spurs much later.
Score recap:
Spurs 135 – Walker (28), Forbes (25), DeRozan (23), Gay (14), White (12), Mills (9), Murray (7), Lyles (7), Poeltl (6), Carroll (2), Eubanks (2).
Rockets 133 – Harden (50), Capela (22), Westbrook (19), Rivers (19), McLemore (11), Tucker (10), Chandler (2).
Source: Chron.com
Photo credit: NBA.com