When Gregg Popovich announced that MVP candidate Kawhi Leonard would miss Game 6 against the Rockets, Vegas shifted the line to make Houston a 7.5-point favorite to win and force a Game 7. James Harden, who had one of the best individual seasons in NBA history was now the clear star on the floor in a decisive playoff game against a Spurs team missing its best player, alongside veteran point guard Tony Parker.
By halftime, the Spurs had run out to a 19-point lead, leaving Mike D’Antoni, Harden, and the Rockets searching for answers heading into the final half of their season. Those answers could not be found in the Toyota Center, as the Rockets fans watched as San Antonio bludgeoned Houston in one of the all-time worst playoff losses at home in NBA history. Against a team without its top star, Houston lost by 39 in an elimination game at home, as Harden went out with a whimper going 2-for-11 from the field for 10 points.
LaMarcus Aldridge, who was questioned early in the series, dominated with 34 points and 12 rebounds as he picked apart the Rockets’ efforts to go small with Nene sidelined with a tear in his groin. Jonathan Simmons had 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting in Kawhi’s place in the lineup as the Spurs completely decimated the Rockets.
The loss caused some to call into question the rest of the body of work the Rockets had put together this season. Harden was co-favorite along with Russell Westbrook for MVP and Mike D’Antoni is among the favorites to win Coach of the Year, but in the most critical game of the season both came up empty. Harden was unable to shake Simmons and the rest of the Spurs defense to have any impact on the game, and D’Antoni couldn’t find any adjustments to make to stop the bleeding.
It is unfair to write off a tremendous season after one game, but this wasn’t just any loss, it was an historic loss in the worst possible moment. As the summer wears on, we’ll be able to look back and marvel once again at what Harden and the Rockets were able to do during the season, but it will take awhile before the stench of this performance wears off.
For the Spurs, it’s the most Spurs-ian performance possible. No team over the last two decades has embodied the “next man up” principle more than San Antonio in the NBA. The torch has constantly been passed, from David Robinson to Tim Duncan to Parker to Manu Ginobili to Leonard – often with many of them holding said torch all at once – and not once since 1999 has it ever dropped. The Spurs are a marvel of consistency, seemingly unaffected by the ravages of time and changing parts like every other franchise. On Thursday night in Houston, Gregg Popovich’s masterpiece was unveiled. A rag tag group of role players, surrounding one All-Star (who wasn’t even an All-Star this year) outworking and outplaying favored opposition.
Now, it’s onto the main event of the Western Conference playoffs. The matchup we’ve been waiting patiently for for three years, but have yet to get: Spurs-Warriors.
