James Harden And The Rockets Held On For A 112-108 Win To Even The Series With Golden State

The Houston Rockets escaped with a win over the Golden State Warriors in Game 3 and, in doing so, set the stage for a very interesting showdown on Tuesday evening. Though nothing was easy for James Harden and company, the end result was favorable, as the Rockets held on for dear life in a 112-108 victory to even the series against the reigning champs.

Things began in positive fashion for the Rockets, with Clint Capela scoring the first four points and the tandem of P.J. Tucker and James Harden chipping in with long-range connections.

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In a play that (mercifully) ended up being something to forget, Harden and Kevin Durant both appeared to sustain injuries at the same time, with Durant’s elbow meeting Harden’s head right before a timeout.

The MVP-caliber pairing remained on the floor but, in the first quarter, it was the Curry show. The two-time MVP connected on a quartet of two-point field goals in the first eight minutes, pushing back against his uneven showing in Game 3.

Then, Curry punctuated a 14-3 run by the Warriors with a three to give Golden State its first lead of the night at 24-20.

After a back-and-forth to end the first quarter and begin the second, Harden began to assert himself, scoring nine points in the first seven minutes of the second period, including a pair of three-point conversions.

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Houston capitalized on Harden’s heroics (and a jolt from Austin Rivers) to produce a 14-2 run and that gave the home team its largest lead of the night at 53-41.

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The Rockets largely maintained that comfortable edge for the balance of the first half but, in typical Warriors fashion, a haymaker was on the way when Andre Iguodala buried a buzzer-beating three to tighten things to only a seven-point halftime margin.

Still, it was a positive half from Houston led by 18 points from Harden and 10 points from Eric Gordon. On the Golden State side, it was the usual suspects in Curry (13 points) and Durant (12 points) but, all things considered, the Rockets did a quality job on the defensive end in keeping the Warriors in check.

After the break, Harden and company picked things up almost immediately in the third quarter, using an 8-2 run to build their lead back to double figures. On the capping three from the bearded one, Draymond Green took the brunt of the follow-through for good measure.

Houston didn’t stop there, creating additional separation in a hurry with a flurry of threes. When things (finally) slowed, the Rockets held a 17-point lead and all of the mojo.

As you may expect, the Warriors did push back (as they are wont to do) and it was Curry at the helm of it all. Golden State quickly closed within a four-point margin at 86-82 behind Curry’s long-distance marksmanship.

The Rockets finished the third quarter strong, however, thwarting Golden State’s advance and taking a nine-point edge to the closing period.

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Houston continued their uptick into the fourth, with Harden doing Harden things as the Warriors suddenly imploded. The result was a 101-86 lead for the Rockets with nine minutes to go and, in short, a fantastic position for the home team.

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The visitors did put together a spurt to stop things from getting completely out of control, with Green as the impetus in finding Durant for a streaking bucket in transition to key a 6-0 mini-run.

With that said, the Rockets held a 110-101 lead with 2:31 remaining and, frankly, the victory appeared relatively secure. On cue, the Warriors kept coming, as Houston went silent offensively and shots fell for the reigning champs. Eventually, Curry buried a big-time three to climb within two.

Harden was then fouled with 11 seconds remaining and, after making the first to give Houston a three-point edge, he surprisingly missed the second to leave the door open for the Warriors. That set up the biggest possession of the night and, despite two (very) good looks from Golden State’s top two players, the Rockets were able to hold to secure the win.

While the overall performance was a quality one for the Rockets on the way to victory, the fourth quarter was a bit of a house of horrors. Houston shot 8-of-26 from the floor and 1-of-12 from three in the closing period, including 0-of-4 after taking what appeared to be the decisive nine-point edge. When the final buzzer sounded, however, Houston did enough to pick up the favorable result and send things back to Oakland at 2-2.

All told, Houston held a 27-point edge from beyond the three-point arc, converting 17 triples to just eight for Golden State, and that proved to be pivotal in the win. Individually, Harden was brilliant on the way to 38 points and 10 rebounds, with Gordon adding 20 points and Paul doing all of the little things while finishing with 13 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Durant and Curry combined for 64, but it still wasn’t enough to take control of the series.

The two teams will reconvene on Wednesday evening in a new venue but, after the first two games seemed to paint a definitive picture, things are now muddled in the best way.