NBA Playoffs: Houston Rockets Crush Dallas Mavs 118-108

And there you have it.

Opening Day for the NBA Playoffs commenced without a hitch and the Houston Rockets were none the exception.

I know it’s one game, I know it’s a seven-game series but I’m damn proud of what my team did out there last night.

They were on a global stage, the bright lights were on and did not falter or go gently into that good night.

Whoa — I almost directly quoted a Dylan Thomas poem there.

A classic one at that…

But it’s true.

The Rockets did everything that they were supposed to, making a statement indicating that they were the better team out there.

That’s what I like to see!

Any way, from the opening tip the Rockets wanted to take control and they did.

Toward the end of the quarter, the team had already taken a 19-6 lead as their shooting continued to be red-hot.

This was after a Jason Terry three-pointer with 6:16 left. He already had seven points off some previous treys in the quarter.

The Rox held on to stay on top to lead the Mavs 32-19 at the end of the 1st.

In the 2nd quarter the Rockets cooled off with their shooting and allowed the Mavs to go on a 15-5 run to pull within three points of them after a Chandler Parsons tip shot with 6:03 left. Rockets 37, Mavs 34

The Mavs turned to Dirk Nowitzki who scored multiple buckets to help his team not only tie the game but take the lead for the first time with 3:42 left after one his signature fadeaway jumpers that nearly impossible to guard. Mavs 44, Rockets 42

This was that period of time where the Rockets momentum was stymied a bit as the Mavs got themselves back into the game.

But even though things were neck-to-neck on the way to the half, the Rockets pushed themselves back up again taking 59-55 halftime lead after a Trevor Ariza three-pointer with 10 seconds left.

At the start of the 2nd half, the Rockets inserted Dwight Howard back in the lineup from his minutes limitation and the Rockets started to trend back upward in terms of their lead.

I noticed this as a pattern, when D12 was in, the Rockets usually would mount up a lead but there were some terrible calls that were called on him that resulted in him picking up four quick fouls by the midpoint of the 3rd quarter.

That meant that he had to go to bench and the Rockets would have to press on without him.

I’m blaming Joey Crawford because it seems that any time he refs our games, he has it against us!

But it didn’t matter because the Rockets persevered and found a way to overcome.

Kevin McHale turned to Clint Capela in D12’s stead and he did wonderfully for the spurts that he was in there.

He wasn’t perfect but defended decent enough to help keep the Rockets on top.

Josh Smith help push the Rockets up by 14 points once again after a put back lay-in with 2:06 left to go in the 3rd. He already had 10 points. Rockets 84, Mavs 70

But the Mavs battled back as they got a bit closer and ended the quarter trailing the Rockets by seven points, 84-77.

In the 4th quarter, the Mavs made one more push to get themselves back into the game pulling within six after a Rondo drive to the bucket with 6:52 left giving him his 15th point of the night. Rockets 95, Mavs 89

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But that’s when Corey Brewer happened.

He did what he always does — come up big when he’s most needed.

Brew scored nine pivotal points during a late stretch in the 4th that allowed the Rockets to take a commanding 109-95 lead with 3:03 left.

Did you want a breakdown of those points? They were two threes, layup and a free throw as a result of a foul off Monta Ellis.

Yep, his 9th point was a three-pointer the old-fashioned way.

By then, the Mavs were safely in the Rockets rear-view mirror as they coasted on to a 118-108 win.

The Rockets shot the ball extremely well, shooting 38-for-85 (44.7 percent) from the field, 10-for-25 from three (40 percent) and 32-for-45 (71.1 percent) from the charity stripe.

They moved the ball around proficiently, having a 26-19 assist advantage, plucking balls left-and-right with an 11-5 steals advantage and kept the turnovers rather low at 13 compared to the Mavs 17 total turnovers.

The Rockets also scored 23 points off the Mavs’ 17 turnovers.

Incredible.

It was quite a balanced attack for the Rockets — Harden didn’t shoot the ball all that well but managed to score 24 points to lead the Rockets. He also had 11 assists and was 15-of-17 from the free throw line.

Ariza came up big with 12 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and three steals excelling on both ends of the floor.

Terrence Jones had 19/9 and six assists; D12 had 11/5 and five blocks and Brew had 15 points on the night.

The Rockets had a 9-5 blocks advantage with D12 having more than half of them.

Nowitzki lead the Mavs with 24 points, eight rebounds.

NBA Playoffs Game 1: Houston Rockets Crush Dallas Mavs 118-108

By Brian K. Patterson | Apr 19, 2015

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