NBA Playoffs Rd 2/Game 2: Houston Rockets Skirt LA Clippers 115-109
May 4, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) celebrates his three point shot against the Los Angeles Clippers in the first quarter in game one of the second round of the NBA Playoffs at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports
Whew! What a relief — the Houston Rockets were able to take care of Game 2 like how I thought they would.
This game that was on-deck was a must-win for the Rockets because the worst-case scenario would’ve happened.
What’s that you may ask?
It’s the Rockets heading to Los Angeles with the team starting down a 0-2 hole that they’d have to dig themselves out of.
At that point, you’d have to wonder if the series would be over because it would’ve been rather difficult for the team to climb out especially as tough as it would be playing in there spacious, regal but packed arena.
Apparently locals call it the STAPLES Center out there.
But luckily, us fans don’t have to worry about that as the Rockets took care of business and knotted the series at one game a piece.
Such a relief!
But let’s talk about how they did.
In the first quarter, things started out very tight as each team traded buckets.
Not only that but Dwight Howard and Blake Griffin were literally trading dunk as if each were trying to one-up each other.
As if?
Okay, they were and it was spectacular to watch — it has been quite special to see D12 back close to full form.
He looked eerily similar to back in his old days when he used to dominate the paint back the O-Arena!
But the Rockets started to pull away after Pablo Prigioni hit a big three-pointer putting the Rockets up 27-20 with 3:02 left in the quarter.
The quarter was already full of emotion with lead referee Joey Crawford ensuring that those said emotions don’t boil over and not have any effect on the pace of the game.
He gave not only the players warnings but the coaches as well because he spoke for all the refs when he said they had enough of their whining.
I don’t call it whining, I call advocating!
Especially with as bad as the officiating was last night.
The first victim to try out the refs patience?
Matt Barnes of course!
With 34 seconds left, Harden was on the drive and Barnes got him good on the way to the hoop while in the act of shooting.
He had a few words to say about his displeasure about the foul call and was immediately slapped with a technical for that reason.
Any way, the Rockets held on to stay on top at the end of the 1st 35-24.
In the 2nd quarter, the Rockets maintained their lead for a bit until about the 8:19 mark when Griffin scored systematically off a step-back that put them up 40-39.
This was after a 15-4 run the Clippers had put together to take the lead.
The Rockets trailed for the rest of the way as they had no answer for Griffin and DeAndre Jordan to which they had their way in the paint and got anything that they wanted.
The Rockets trailed the Cips 65-56 at the half and Griffin already had 26 points to his credit.
The difference was that the Clips were shooting 53 percent and had scored 13 points off the Rockets 11 turnovers.
However, what kept the Rockets in the game was the fact that they offensively out-rebounded their opponent 11-3 in spite of them shooting just 43 percent from the field.
Next: How Did The Rockets Exorcise Their Demons In The 2nd Half?