Thunder vs Rockets: Houston takes 2-0 lead, disprove theory of relying heavily on James Harden
The Houston Rockets have been one of the teams to beat this season, except they're the ones doing all the beating as they pipped Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday, August 20, 111-98. This gave them a 2-0 lead making it only harder for Chris Paul and Co as they desperately seek answers for the clash. However, this was a game that saw Houston prove theories of the team being over-reliant on their star, James Harden.
For starters, Thunder all but ensured "The Beard" wouldn't get a chance to zoom across the court. It was an off day for him as his 5 of 16 shooting isn't something that you could associate him with. Harden has been one of their biggest X-factors and joining him is Russell Westbrook. Of his shots, three came at the closing time and Houston still had enough to prove they could do damage without Harden having his A-Game on as he ended the day with 21 points and nine assists.
Danuel House Jr. scored 19 points for Houston with other players chipping in with double-figure numbers. Their defense stepped up as they ensured there would be at least a ten-point deficit by the end of the game and that's exactly what happened. Thunders are adept with three-pointers and they look at the area for shooting, however, Houston only made it harder. Talking postgame about the performance, Harden credited it to team energy.
''We want to make sure that guys are not caring about themselves so guys are showing great energy on the court and off the court," he said. He wasn't wrong there. Harden might shrug off the rust easily. Westbrook will surely return and their three-pointer shooting average will most definitely increase. What they did do was prove that restraining Harden wouldn't mean buckling down to pressure. This is a team that's on a mission and they will dig deeper to get that win even if it means improvising at the last minute.
For the Thunder, it was a forgettable day with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scoring 31 points for the Thunder, and Danilo Gallinari chipping in with 17. Today's loss will sting them hard and they will be keen to bounce back. But against a dominant Houston side, the challenge just got harder,
The two sides will meet for Game 3 on Saturday, August 22.