James Harden, Rockets Close Out Thunder in Thrilling Game 7

The first round of the NBA playoffs concluded with a chaotic matchup in which James Harden made the play of the game—on defense. Who would've thought?

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla.—Three thoughts on Houston’s thrilling 104–102 win over Oklahoma City in Game 7 of the Western Conference quarterfinals … 

Breathe, Houston

For a minute, as Oklahoma City scratched out a fourth-quarter lead and James Harden jump shots kept rimming out, you wondered: Was this it? Was this how it would end for the Rockets? A first-round loss, to a team headlined by Chris Paul, the player they traded away last summer, no less? Would Mike D’Antoni walk? Would James Harden be traded? For a moment, everything seemed on the table. From afar, you could almost see Daryl Morey’s mind racing. 

Save those thoughts, as the Rockets survived a mad scramble at the end to squeeze out a two-point win. What a wild finish. The final minute had missed shots, bad fouls and enough flopping to earn both teams six figures in fines. Harden, a woeful 4-for-15 from the floor, made the defensive play of the game, blocking a Lu Dort three with 4.8 seconds left, deftly avoiding Dort’s attempt to knock the ball off him and out of bounds. The final seconds seemed to take an eternity, ending with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's throwing the ball away with 1.1 seconds left. 

James Harden's denial WINS the series for Houston❗️❕❗️ pic.twitter.com/rFnlh2aFJ2

— NBA (@NBA) September 3, 2020

This game had a little bit of everything. It had Chris Paul, who desperately wanted to oust the team that traded him, willing Oklahoma City into the game in the fourth quarter. It had Lu Dort, the defensive-minded rookie, dropping a team-high 30 points. It had Oklahoma City shooting 46.1% from the floor and 47.1% from three … and losing. It had Oklahoma City shooting 39.8% from the floor and 34.7% from three … and winning. A 10-turnover differential (22-12) in favor of the Rockets made up for that. 

Houston moves on to face the Lakers. The postmortems will wait for another day. 

Salute, Chris Paul

This season didn’t end the way Paul hoped, and the emotion of the moment overwhelmed him after the game. “We fought hard all year,” Paul said. “A lot of people doubted us. We didn’t doubt ourselves. We didn’t give a damn about anybody’s predictions. … We expected to win.” 

Regardless of the outcome, this season will go down as one of Paul’s finest. Not only did Paul, at 35, continue to play at an All-Star level, he raised the game of the young players around him. Instead of sulking about being traded to a non-title contender, Paul embraced the role of mentor, guiding Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, a rising star, Dennis Schröeder, this season’s likely Sixth Man winner, and Dort, an emerging defensive stopper. He powered an OKC team into the playoffs and had them within seconds of knocking off a team with loftier expectations. He played 40 minutes in Game 7 and held together a team of young players who had never experienced a situation like this before. 

Luguentz Dort's 30 points tonight were the 3rd-most a rookie has ever scored in a Game 7.

Only Tom Heinsohn (37 in April 1957) and Tom Meschery (32 in April 1962) have scored more. @EliasSports pic.twitter.com/vh05H1NrVk

— NBA.com/Stats (@nbastats) September 3, 2020

Who knows what the future holds, but this was a season for Paul to be proud of. 

What Does Houston Have Left?

Late Wednesday night, Morey, the Rockets' GM, sat in an empty arena, visibly exhausted. As a team, Houston has to be, and after seven grueling games it will turn around on Friday and face the well-rested Lakers. Lakers-Rockets is a fascinating clash of styles, with supersized L.A. battling small-ball Houston. 

To win, Houston will need a more consistent Harden, who submitted two clunkers in the opening round and saw his three-point shooting dip to 30.8% in the series. Harden and Russell Westbrook can’t just be good against the Lakers—they have to be great if the Rockets want to have any chance of winning.