{"id":33240,"date":"2020-09-05T11:30:50","date_gmt":"2020-09-05T15:30:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=33240"},"modified":"2020-09-05T11:30:50","modified_gmt":"2020-09-05T15:30:50","slug":"houston-rockets-oklahoma-city-thunder-recap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2020\/09\/05\/houston-rockets-oklahoma-city-thunder-recap\/","title":{"rendered":"Houston Rockets vs. Oklahoma City Thunder Series Recap"},"content":{"rendered":"

With all of the dramatics of <\/span>Chris Paul<\/b><\/a> and <\/span>Russell Westbrook<\/b><\/a> swapping uniforms and teams last season, this series lived up to the hype. It wasn\u2019t pretty. Rather, it was gritty, heart-wrenching, and dramatic. But the Houston Rockets<\/a> survived seven games in this first-round series against the Oklahoma City Thunder<\/a>. Houston moved onto the Western Conference Semifinals following this 4-3 series win.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Game seven was the most dramatic of the series, leading down to the final seconds of regulation. And it wasn\u2019t <\/span>James Harden<\/b><\/a>\u2019s heroics on offense, but a defensive stop that will be remembered.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Series Recap: Houston Rockets vs. Oklahoma City Thunder\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n

Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder Down to the Final Seconds\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n

Both sides in this series traded blows until the final seconds of game seven. Throughout the deciding game, Harden, an offensive wizard struggled to find his shot. He shot 4-15 from the field, only 1-9 from three-point range, but sealed victory for the Rockets by blocking a three from <\/span>Luguentz Dort<\/b><\/a> at the buzzer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Only in the dramatics of the NBA Playoffs do we see one of the league\u2019s best shooters win a game with a blocked shot.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

James Harden’s denial WINS the series for Houston\u2757\ufe0f\u2755\u2757\ufe0f pic.twitter.com\/rFnlh2aFJ2<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 NBA (@NBA) September 3, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Shooting and Defense Tell the Tale\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n

Shooting and turnovers tell the story of this series. Houston got out to a 2-0 series lead thanks to Harden\u2019s 37-point performance in game one and after making 19 of an NBA-record 56 three-point attempts in game two.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

FEAR THE BEARD! \ud83d\ude24<\/p>\n

James Harden led the way for the Houston Rockets with 37 PTS and 11 REB as Houston defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder, 123-108 in Game 1! \ud83d\ude80#WholeNewGame<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/M5XjimYQrv<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 NBA UK (@NBAUK) August 19, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Oklahoma City pushed games three and four to overtime. In game three, Paul <\/span>and the Thunder scored the first 12 points of the extra period en route to a 119-107 victory. Game four was the <\/span>Dennis Schroder<\/b><\/a> show. He scored a career playoff-high 30 points to rally back from a 93-80 Rockets third-quarter lead.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Thunder take down Rockets 119-107 \ud83d\udea8<\/p>\n

Rockets outscored 15-3 after Harden fouled out in OT…<\/p>\n

Series now 2-1 Rockets \ud83c\udf7f<\/p>\n

(via @NBA<\/a>)pic.twitter.com\/oTiSAcmpYj<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Overtime (@overtime) August 23, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Westbrook returned from injury in game five, providing a boost to Houston on both sides of the ball. In three games he averaged 14.7 points 6.3 rebounds, and 4 assists. Defensively, Houston\u2019s team defense was the deciding factor in this series.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Houston Rockets Win the Turnover Battle\u00a0\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n

Through seven games, the Rockets averaged only 12.7 turnovers per game to the Thunder\u2019s 17. Houston also averaged 9.3 steals per night versus Oklahoma City\u2019s 5.3. Not only did Houston wreck havoc forcing turnovers, but the team also capitalized on those opportunities.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Houston averaged 20 points off turnovers, ranking second in the NBA in the first round. Oklahoma City ranked last in points off turnovers at 11.6 per game.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Additionally, as was expected, Houston fired three-pointers at a historic rate. The Rockets averaged 51 three-point attempts, connecting on almost 36 percent of them. On the flip side, the Thunder attempted just 36.6 threes at a 32.8 percent rate.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Top Performers\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n

Despite scoring only 17 in the final game, Harden continued his dominance and is easily the MVP of this series. \u2018The Beard\u2019 averaged 29.7 points per game on better than 46 percent shooting. He also added 8 assists, 6.3 rebounds, and 1.6 steals per night. Harden topped at least 30 points in five of seven games this series.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Robert Covington <\/b><\/a>was another bright spot for his defense. The power forward averaged 2.4 steals, 1.6 blocks, and 5.7 rebounds. While he only scored 13.3 points per game, Covington shot 50 percent from both the field and three-point range.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Notably, <\/span>Eric Gordon<\/b><\/a> added 18.1 points, 3.4 assists, and 1.3 steals per game.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Paul kept the Thunder right in the mix throughout the series with his 21.3 points, 7.4 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 1.6 steals each night. Schroder and <\/span>Shai Gilgeous-Alexander<\/b><\/a> scored 17.3 and 16.3 points per game, respectively.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Up Next for Houston\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n

Following this lengthy first-round battle, the Houston Rockets are gifted with a matchup against <\/span>Anthony Davis<\/b><\/a>, <\/span>LeBron James<\/b><\/a>, and the Los Angeles Lakers<\/a>. The No. 1 seeded Lakers topped the Portland Trail Blazers<\/a> in five games.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Houston and Los Angeles met three times in the regular season, with the Rockets taking two of these contests. This Western Conference Semifinals matchup began Friday, September 4, with Houston taking game one 112-97.<\/span><\/p>\n

Main Photo<\/p>\n

Embed from Getty Images<\/a>