3/6 - 3/9 Rockets Games
- Jennifer Mazina
- Mar 12, 2018
- 7 min read
Updated: Apr 15, 2018
Rockets vs. Thunder
16 wins in a row! Wow! To be honest, I’m shook but so proud of my team. They’re just simply unstoppable and it’s exhilarating. March 6th the Rockets traveled to Oklahoma City to play the Thunder who were currently 7th in the Western Conference standings.
The game started off with the Thunder turning over the ball twice, and three fouls on Thunder players within in the same Rockets possession. Both teams were scoring, and Harden picked up a foul for knocking down Paul George. Halfway through the first quarter, the Rockets didn’t seem to be in rhythm with each other, but as the game went on that changed. The Rockets started to miss shots including one where they were expecting Capela to dunk it but the play didn’t follow through, and the Thunder took a quick lead. Harden started to do what he does best scoring with drives, a cross over, free throws, and an amazing 3-point shot, and to top it off Nenê made the shot to tie the game. Gerald Green then went for the 3 taking the lead for the Rockets by two points ending the quarter.
The second quarter started with turnover after turnover with no scoring. The Thunder then made two 3s taking back the lead, but Mbah a Moute and Gordon both made 3s taking back the lead once again. At this point the Rockets seemed to be getting into rhythm, and they started scoring like crazy with a 12-0 run. Harden started to make isolation plays as well to catch the Rockets back up in points. The Thunder left Ariza wide open which allowed him to make a 3 increasing the lead to 14 points. With it being a Rockets possession, Harden lost the ball and the Thunder picked up a steal, but there wasn’t enough time left in the quarter and the Rockets ended it with a 9-point lead.
Halftime obviously gave the Thunder some time to recuperate because the third quarter came around and they started to close the gap. Unfortunately for them, the Rockets matched each score they made if not one upping them with a 3 never allowing them to catch up in points. Harden went for a drive but accidentally elbowed George in the chin taking on his fourth foul of the night. With three minutes left in the quarter, the Rockets were on a 15-3 run seeming to be unstoppable, and Paul knocked down a 3 from deep. At this point, the Rockets were shooting 75%, and Green shot the last 3 of the quarter with only three seconds left taking the lead to 13 points.
Beginning the fourth quarter, Paul made a nice pass to Nenê for the score. After making several amazing shots, Paul seemed to be very comfortable with shooting as far back as he does. With an 18-point lead, the Rockets seemed to be going strong, and Gordon made the Rockets’ 17th 3 of the night. At that point in the game, 54% of the Rockets points had been from 3s. With the clock ticking down, the Thunder intentionally fouled Capela twice to try and get back in the game, so they took Capela out. Westbrook went for an intense dunk, missed, but drew a foul on Mbah a Moute and shot free throws. With no time left and the Thunder with a large deficit, the Rockets closed out the game 122-112; their 50th win this season. Harden had a double-double with 23 points and 11 assists, and Paul had 25 points and 5 assists.
Rockets vs. Bucks
The Rockets winning streak is still going strong with them winning their 17th game in a row against the Milwaukee Bucks. March 7th, the second night of a back to back, the Rockets traveled to Milwaukee to play against the Bucks who were currently 7th in the Eastern Conference standings.
The starting lineup for the Rockets was Harden, Paul, Capela, Tucker, and Ariza, and Bledsoe, Snell, Henson, Middleton, and Antetokounmpo (the Greek freak) for the Bucks. Nenê was out this game, but they had Tarik Black to step in. The game started with Capela drawing a foul and missing one of the two free throw shots, but they kept the possession. Ariza then deflected the ball, turning it over, but the Bucks got it right back. After that, Ariza went for the fake dunk and threw it to Tucker for the corner 3. The refs treated the game like a playoff game because they weren’t fouling the Bucks for contact, so Harden had to stop trying to draw those fouls. Paul made an incredible pass to Capela for the dunk and a foul got called, but Capela continued to be very active with his third rebound with five minutes left in the quarter. Harden went for a shot but the refs said he double dribbled so unfortunately, he didn’t get the points. Black went for the pump fake and then threw the ball on the opposite side of the basket to make the shot. Even though they allowed the Bucks to score 10 points off of their seven turnovers, the Rockets ended the quarter 24-22.
The second quarter started with a perfect pass by Paul to Gordon for the 3. Critical for the Rockets offense, Tucker made another corner 3. Green’s activity level was on a high that night as he put pressure on the Bucks’ defense while going for a drive. He then went on to follow his own shot but gave it to Mbah a Moute to score. Paul received his first points in the game with a hesi, and following that had a nice curl. Halfway through the quarter and the Rockets’ starting five were back, and they were at their biggest lead of the night with 9 points. Impossible for anyone to guard Harden in isolation, he shot and made a 3, and then took off on a power move to drive and score. Harden, the buzzer beater, threw up a 3 and made it with only half a second left on the clock. He ended the quarter with 21 points, and the Rockets were up by 12.
It just wasn’t Capela’s night for free throws because by the third quarter he was 2/9. Paul shot a 3, and Ariza corkscrewed it up and in with his left hand after he took the ball back from the Bucks. The Rockets had been on a dry spell after that which allowed the Bucks to get the score to only a 4-point deficit. Mbah a Moute then striped the ball and Ariza ran down to finish plus he got an and one. Gordon made a 3 from way back, and when Green got the rebound from one of Gordon’s misses, Gordon made another 3 from way back. Tucker then made another corner 3 taking the lead back to 12 and ended the quarter 87-76.
The fourth quarter started with Gordon making a wide open 3 which brought him to 16 points. It was early in the quarter and Paul already had a double-double, and then the Rockets got two offensive rebounds in a row. The Bucks then started to slowly chip away at the lead bringing it down to only a two-possession game, but Paul with the ball, spun in the opposite direction making the shot and the lead went back to 7 with 45 seconds left. The Bucks went for intentional fouling but the Rockets won taking on the longest winning streak in the NBA this season.
Rockets vs. Raptors
The 1st team in the West vs the 1st team in the East; I knew this would be a very nerve wracking, physical game, and sadly the winning streak came to an end. Following the loss, Drake invited the Houston Rockets to dinner. On March 9th, the Rockets went north of the border to Toronto to play against the Toronto Raptors.
The Raptors got the tip-off to begin the game. Ariza caught his own miss and Harden and Capela made the first points in the whole game. The Raptors took on a quick lead, and they had 7 straight at the 8-minute mark. Mike D’Antoni wasn’t calling any timeouts, and he was just letting them find their rhythm. Halfway through the quarter and the Rockets had missed all 3s so far, and unfortunately Lowry, a Raptors player, was consistently hitting great 3s. Capela had Ariza cut through the traffic so they could finally get some points. It was a difficult quarter for the Rockets with no 3s, and the only thing they really did well was draw fouls on the Raptors. The Raptors ended the quarter 32-16.
The Rockets deficit grew as the Raptors seemed to be unstoppable. Johnson finally made the first 3 of the night for the Rockets, and their offensive rhythm started to pick up. The Raptors seemed to lose just a tad bit of focus, and with a great pass to Capela, the Rockets started to chip away some at the score. Lowry had made every 3 thus far, Tucker dropped him taking on a foul, and the deficit grew to 19. Capela took the ball away from Valanciunas and muscled his way in for 2 points which were much needed. Following that, Harden drove and got an and one to complete the 3-point play, and at this point he was at 14 points; the only Rocket to have double figures. The quarter ended with a Raptors lead 58-43.
It was all Rockets in the first two minutes of the third quarter. Harden brought it to a single digit game, but then Lowry hit the 3. Paul got a steal, then got called for a technical foul, but the Rockets got a steal after DeRozan dribbled off Harden. Halfway through the quarter and they were back down by 13. At this point the Rockets still had only made one 3, but Harden finally made his first and then hit another for back to back 3s. Gordon hit a 3 for his first points in the game, and following that he got an and one which brought it to a 5-point game with 1:27 left in the quarter. Unfortunately, DeRozan got a 3 which brought the deficit back up to 8. Paul spun and threw to Tucker for a 3 but missed in the final seconds of the quarter.
Starting the fourth quarter, Ariza got an and one, followed by Paul who brought it to a 4-point game two minutes into the quarter. Mbah a Moute scored his first 3, and Harden came back in, and scored with a total of 30 points at the seven-minute mark. Gordon hit a deep 3 bringing it back to a 4-point game again. Harden stepped right and hit a 3, then the next possession he drew a foul bringing the game to a 3-point deficit, and he then pulled back tying the game with two minutes left and a 11-2 Rockets run. Lowry drew a foul and brought the Raptors lead back up to 4 with 10 seconds left. After a timeout was taken, Gordon went for a quick 3 with now 7 seconds left in the game. The Rockets being down by 3 took their final timeout with 5.4 seconds left, and after, Harden went for the 3 but missed and that was the end of it. The winning streak was no more, but the game was incredible to watch none the less.
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