Thunder star Russell Westbrook recorded yet another triple-double, but his team struggled when he was off the court.
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A recurring theme throughout the series has been Oklahoma City’s tendency to lose leads when Westbrook sits in the second half. Westbrook is doing this by himself, carrying the Thunder despite having little to no help around him.
In the final five minutes, the Rockets started fouling Andre Roberson after Roberson missed his first six free throws of the game – and 11 of the series. “One thing about Houston is that they have a very explosive offensive team”.
James Harden totaled a whopping 44 points on only 11 made field goals because he made all of his 18 free throw attempts.
“Taj is a great post player”, Westbrook said. In Game 4, though, Harden finally went cold – after scoring 116 points in the first three games, he had 16 points on 5-for-16 shooting, including 0-for-7 from 3-point range, plus seven turnovers.
Russell Westbrook finished with 35 points, 14 rebounds and 14 assists for his third consecutive triple-double in the series. And I don’t understand-if Steven wants to say anything, he still hasn’t said anything.
Nene scored 28 points on flawless shooting from the field, and the Rockets beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 113-109 on Sunday to take a 3-1 lead in their first-round playoff series. Lou Williams and Eric Gordon were clutch once again. In a game-two loss, he misfired on 14-of-18 shots in the fourth quarter. While a win is a win no matter what, the Rockets were able to stay in the game-and almost win it-by shooting 33 free throws compared to only 23 by the Thunder.
This is the Steven Adams that the Thunder have been looking for.
The first question was for Adams, something on the Thunder’s clear, and potentially series-defining, issue of struggling with Westbrook on the bench.
Houston was 4-12 in the regular season when shooting less than 30 percent from long range, and the Thunder emphasized closing out on 3-point shooters. The New Zealander played much more aggressively on Sunday on the defensive end, especially in the first half, altering shots in the lane and getting three of the team’s 14 blocks.
The argument escalated from their before coming to an end.
Game 5 is Tuesday night in Houston.
This series is over.
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“We are one team”, Westbrook said. The Western Conference semifinal between the victor of the Rockets-Thunder series and the victor of the San Antonio Spurs-Memphis Grizzlies series will begin May 1, the National Basketball Association announced. But the focus waned as it should have intensified in crunch time, and a few dumb plays ultimately led to Oklahoma City losing. “They’re going to get open looks, and you’re on the scramble and you’re on the defense all the time”. What goes on when he goes to the bench, why is Houston so successful, and do you sense they sort of get an energy boost just from him going out of the game? “Our pace was slow, and as the games goes on we pick it up and we’re a much better team”. The NBA playoffs are like nothing else, because they reveal everything; every strength, every flaw.
