4/1 - 4/7 Rockets Games
- Jennifer Mazina
- Apr 9, 2018
- 15 min read
Updated: Apr 15, 2018
Rockets vs. Spurs
What a sad day for Houston. The Rockets traveled to San Antonio on Easter Sunday as well as April Fools’ Day to play the Spurs who were currently 4th in the Western Conference standings. Paul was sitting out for the Rockets because of his hip. Starting for them was Harden, Gordon, Ariza, Tucker, and Capela. For the Spurs, Murray, Mills, Green, Anderson, and Aldridge.
Aldridge scored a field goal to start the game, and Capela threw it down to score for the Rockets. Ariza went for a 3 but missed, and Murray tied the game 6-6. Ariza then stole the ball and Tucker went for a wide-open 3, missed, and Murray drove again for the score. With just under six minutes left in the opening quarter, the game was tied 8-8, but Capela drew a foul and made 1 of the 2 free throws to take the lead for the Rockets by 1. A defensive 3 second violation was called on Harden and Mills shot the technical. Murray went in for another layup and at that point he had made 8 of the Spurs 13 total points. Aldridge hit an open 3 taking the lead for the Spurs by 5. At this point in the game, the Rockets were 0 of 8 for the 3-point shot. Ending out the quarter, the Spurs missed their second free throw and were able to get the rebound and score with an and one with just 2.8 seconds remaining. They led 26-17.
Gordon knocked down his first 3 to start the second quarter, Green made his first 3 which took the deficit to 7, and following that, Capela made both of his free throws taking the deficit to 5. Green went for a 3, missed, took the rebound away from Murray, and hit another 3, and at that point it was only a 2-point game. Later on, Gordon threw the ball down for an impressive slam, but a nice Euro step by Anderson from the Spurs took their lead back to 7. Tucker made his first corner 3, Harden laid it up and in for his third field goal, but the Rockets were still not able to take the lead away from the Spurs. While Tucker was trying to keep the ball from going out of bounds, he ran into one of the camera men and hit the back of his head but luckily, he was okay. Around the three-minute mark, Harden got fouled by Parker while going for a 3, made all 3 free throws, and it was only a 1-point game. Where the Rockets going to take the lead? Unfortunately, they did not because the Spurs scored 2 points, and then Green, from the Spurs, hit a 3 at the buzzer to take it back to a 6-point lead. Green from the Rockets went to the locker room early because he was limping. Tucker got hurt again when he tried to catch the rebound but instead went down hard. Spurs led again 46-38.
The Spurs quickly took the lead to 10, but Capela drew a foul and made both taking it back down to 8. Gordon got a 2 and one and missed the free throw, but after that he scored left handed cutting the lead to 4. With under six minutes left, Harden pulled back and scored which took him to 15 points. The Spurs were on fire because they took the lead right back to 9 with no problem. Capela got his 10th rebound of the game and scored with a pass by Harden, who received his 6th assist of the night. The Rockets were doing whatever they could to stay in the game, but unfortunately, it just wasn’t their night. Green drew a foul going for a 3 and made all 3 free throws with took it to a 7-point deficit with three minutes left, but the Spurs again took it back to 11. Aldridge fell for Anderson’s fake when he went for a 3, but he missed 1 of his 3 free throws. It took almost three quarters, but Harden finally scored his first 3 of the night. He then proceeded to pick up his 4th foul. In the final seconds, Harden fell down but the Spurs led once again 75-66.
A jump ball was called to open the quarter and the Spurs got it and scored. Following that though, Gordon got a good, clean look and made the 3. Both Greens’ blocked at both ends, but then Mills made his second 3 which took the lead back up to 11 with eight minutes left. At this point, the game kind of felt like a lost cause for the Rockets because again it just didn’t feel like it was their night. Gordon picked up his 5th foul. Gay scored for the largest lead of the night of 13 points, Harden then scored so it was back down to 11, but then Mills scored taking it back to 13. Approaching the halfway mark of the final quarter, Mills made another 3 and the score was 87-71. Harden drove, drew the foul but his shot was good, and he made the free throw for 25 points. Green from the Spurs for a 3, took the lead to 20 for the largest of the night. Ariza then knocked down a 3 but it was still a 16-point game with not a lot of time left. Anderson from the Spurs took it back to 20 with 2:14 left, and Black put it up and in for his first points but at that point it didn’t really matter. The Spurs won 100-83 ending the Rockets winning streak.
Rockets vs. Wizards
Another blowout for the Rockets adding to their home game winning streak! The Washington Wizards who were currently 6th in the Eastern Conference standings took on the Rockets on April 3rd. Harden had yet another double-double and Paul was finally back in. Starting for the Rockets was Paul, Harden, Capela, Tucker, and Mbah a Moute. For the Wizards, Wall, Beal, Gortat, Morris, and Porter Jr.
Wizards got tip but Mbah a Moute stole the ball and Tucker passed to Capela for a dunk to start the game. An alley-oop from Harden to Capela and the Rockets took a quick 6-point lead. Beal, from the Wizards, tied the game 8-8, but then Mbah a Moute made the first 3 for the Rockets. Beal took a walk on the press table while going after the ball. At this point in the game, Capela was off to a great start for 8 of the Rockets total 19 points. He took a seat on the bench and Nenê came in. Harden drew a foul going for a 3, made all 3 free throws, Gortat was called for traveling, and then Nenê pivoted his foot along with a pump fake for a nice score to get things moving for the Rockets. Gordon hit his first 3 which took it to a 5-point Rockets lead and following that, Harden with his signature step back 3, knocked it down with just three seconds left on the shot clock for his first as well. Unfortunately, Paul went for a 3, missed, Nenê got the offensive rebound and a foul but missed both free throws. Green stepped in and did what he does best. With under a minute left in the quarter, he knocked down a quick 3, and right after that, Paul tried to go for a quick 3 as well but missed. The Rockets led 35-24.
The second quarter beand Anderson got called for a foul and he unfortunately rolled his ankle. He then left to go get it iced and didn’t return for the rest of the game. Later on, while Paul was passing to Capela, it went through his legs instead to Green who made another 3. A few possessions later, Green stole the ball and drew a foul in which he made both free throws taking it to a 13-point Rockets lead. Tucker made his first corner 3 of the night with nobody within 6 feet of him. While Capela put the ball up, he got poked in the eye and had to get a new contact put in, but then he made 1 of his 2 free throws. Harden with a block and a take away, set up Gordon for a perfect 3, and in the last 3:07 minutes, it was a 13-5 run for the Rockets. During another possession for the Rockets, Harden got hit on the arm while going for a 3 and made all 3 free throws. He was the one to make the last 7 points for the Rockets with 3:27 left, and then he made another step back 3 for a total of 17 points for him thus far. With just five seconds left on the shot clock, Paul hit a 3 taking it to a 22-point lead. The Rockets led the half 71-49.The second quarter began and Anderson got called for a foul and he unfortunately rolled his ankle. He then left to go get it iced and didn’t return for the rest of the game. Later on, while Paul was passing to Capela, it went through his legs instead to Green who made another 3. A few possessions later, Green stole the ball and drew a foul in which he made both free throws taking it to a 13-point Rockets lead. Tucker made his first corner 3 of the night with nobody within 6 feet of him. While Capela put the ball up, he got poked in the eye and had to get a new contact put in, but then he made 1 of his 2 free throws. Harden with a block and a take away, set up Gordon for a perfect 3, and in the last 3:07 minutes, it was a 13-5 run for the Rockets. During another possession for the Rockets, Harden got hit on the arm while going for a 3 and made all 3 free throws. He was the one to make the last 7 points for the Rockets with 3:27 left, and then he made another step back 3 for a total of 17 points for him thus far. With just five seconds left on the shot clock, Paul hit a 3 taking it to a 22-point lead. The Rockets led the half 71-49.
The second quarter began and Anderson got called for a foul and he unfortunately rolled his ankle. He then left to go get it iced and didn’t return for the rest of the game. Later on, while Paul was passing to Capela, it went through his legs instead to Green who made another 3. A few possessions later, Green stole the ball and drew a foul in which he made both free throws taking it to a 13-point Rockets lead. Tucker made his first corner 3 of the night with nobody within 6 feet of him. While Capela put the ball up, he got poked in the eye and had to get a new contact put in, but then he made 1 of his 2 free throws. Harden with a block and a take away, set up Gordon for a perfect 3, and in the last 3:07 minutes, it was a 13-5 run for the Rockets. During another possession for the Rockets, Harden got hit on the arm while going for a 3 and made all 3 free throws. He was the one to make the last 7 points for the Rockets with 3:27 left, and then he made another step back 3 for a total of 17 points for him thus far. With just five seconds left on the shot clock, Paul hit a 3 taking it to a 22-point lead. The Rockets led the half 71-49.
Paul passed to Capela for an alley-oop to start the quarter. Tucker took his first jumper all season long from the free throw line. With 9:39 left, it was a 9-0 Wizards run up until Capela scored a layup. It’s human nature for people to ease up when they have such a large lead, but the Rockets picked back up. Porter Jr. then made a quick 3 but there was still a significant deficit for the Wizards. A catch and shoot for Paul for his 10th 3 of the night, and Harden with 27 points, hit a corner 3 taking the lead to 20. Harden put on a show for the crowd and then proceeded to score. Green hit yet another 3, and with a minute and a half left, Johnson hit a corner 3. The Rockets led yet again 95-75.
Satoransky, from the Wizards, scored to start the final quarter. Green wasn’t expecting Johnson to pass to him, but he quickly got into place to catch the ball and made yet another 3. It just wasn’t Gordon’s night for the 3-point shot and he knew that so he had to score a different way. He went throw the keyhole to score 2 points instead. Later on, Green thought about taking a 3-point shot but instead ended up slamming a 2 to get the crowd going wild. Around the eight-minute mark, Harden came back in and he was 1 assist shy of a triple double. He then went for and made another step back 3 for his 26th 30-point plus game of the season. The following possession, he fired for yet another step back 3. He shoots more step back 3s than any team in the NBA, and he then made a 2 and one for a quick 9 points. Capela got his 40th double-double of the season. Paul passed to Capela for a powerful dunk, and then Quarterman checked in for the Rockets. He was able to score 2 points. The Rockets won yet again 120-104 for Mike D’Antoni’s highest win total ever for the Rockets 63rd win of the season. They’re breaking records left and right!
Rockets vs. Trail Blazers
This game was quite a bit different from the last time the Rockets played the Trail Blazers up until the end of the game, and some celebs came out for this one. On April 5th, the Portland Trail Blazers who were 3rd in the Western Conference standings traveled to Houston to take on the Rockets. Both Gordon and Anderson were out for the night, and Lillard wasn’t playing for the Trail Blazers. Starting for the Rockets was Paul, Harden, Capela, Tucker, and Ariza. For the Trail Blazers, Napier, McCollum, Nurkic, Aminu, and Turner.
The Rockets got tip-off and Ariza scored 2 down the middle to start the game off. Two possessions later, he then took and made his first 3. Capela missed his first 2 shots but then Paul, between the legs, got a 2 and one and made the free throw. The Trail Blazers left Ariza wide-open to try for a corner 3, he unfortunately missed. Capela caught the rebound, Ariza went for a second try in the same spot, and he made it that time. Harden hit his first 3 for a 13-0 run by the Rockets and a 10-point lead. Tucker hit his first 3 and an alley-oop from Harden to Capela for an 11-point lead. Both Nurkic and Mbah a Moute went to the ground trying to catch the ball and a jump ball was called. The Trail Blazers got it, missed, and Mbah a Moute caught the rebound. Harden was able to draw a foul from beyond the arc and made 2 of the 3 free throws. This time, an alley-oop to Black took the Rockets on a 9-0 run until McCollum scored. Paul hit a 3 and that was the 42nd time the Rockets had scored 30+ points in the first quarter this season. Mbah a Moute proceeded to hit a 3 and in the final seconds, Green went for a wide-open corner 3 taking the lead 36-17.
Johnson scored to start the second quarter and Green was back at it again with a quick 3. Two minutes into the quarter, Baldwin, from the Trail Blazers, finally scored for them. Nurkic was no match for Paul because he still managed to make the corner 3 right over him. That 3 was the Rockets 9th made 3 of the night. The Trail Blazers matched that shot and then some when they made a 3 and one for a 4-point play. An offensive foul was called on Ariza when Turner took an elbow to the throat while Ariza tried to score. Harden was left wide-open at the top for a 3. The Rockets lost focus for a couple possessions I feel because they allowed the Trail Blazers to make 4 easy points followed by a 3 to take it to an 11-point deficit. Baldwin hit Harden in the midsection with his forearm possibly getting him back for when Harden popped him in the chin with his shoulder. This game was getting quite physical especially when Nurkic got a foul when he jumped on Mbah a Moute. Harden made a 3 from that foul. With under a minute left, the Rockets were 13 for 23 at the 3-point line when Paul hit a 3 and he had 20 points thus far. The Rockets led once again 66-44.
Nurkic scored and drew a foul but missed the free throw to start the third quarter. Capela caught the rebound from Nurkic’s missed free throw but unfortunately jumped right out of bounds so the Trail Blazers got the ball back. Nurkic then drew another foul when Capela grabbed his arm for the second team foul in a hurry. Turner put up a 3 for a quick 5 points for the Trail Blazers. At this point it was a 7-0 run by the Trail Blazers. A foul was called on Nurkic during a behind the back pass from Paul to Capela and Capela made both of his free throws ending the Trail Blazers’ run. Paul shot and made a 3 but he didn’t get it off in time before the shot clock so it wasn’t counted. With just under 7:40 left, it was a 14-4 run by the Trail Blazers. Harden was able to draw a foul on Turner while he was going for a 3 because Turner touched him. He made all 3 of his free throws this time. Another beautiful alley-oop by Capela and all McCollum could do was just watch. Another jump ball called towards the end of the quarter and the Rockets got it but Johnson missed the 3-point attempt. They were still up 84-71.
The Trail Blazers scored a field goal to start the last quarter. They stepped up their game this quarter because they got the deficit to 10 points and they were on a 12-4 run. With under eight minutes left, both teams started struggling to score. Finally, at the 6:35 mark, the Rockets scored when Capela dunked the ball. Then, Harden took it one on one with a nice hesitation move and scored taking it back to a 14-point lead. At this point Capela had yet another double-double. The Trail Blazers double teamed Harden and a jump ball was called. The Rockets got it but the Trail Blazers stole it and almost scored when Connaughton, going full speed, didn’t grab the rim firmly when trying to dunk. The ball popped out and he fell down. With just 2:40 left, the Trail Blazers took it to a 10-point game again. Green missed 2 3s in the same corner, and then Tucker went for a 3 in the same exact corner as Green but missed as well. There was no whistle blown for a foul when Black got hit by Papagiannis, and he was still lying on the floor when the Trail Blazers made a 3. The ball fell right into the arms of Papagiannis when Harden had the ball and they scored taking it to a 4-point game. With under two minutes left in the game, all the starters for the Rockets came back in. The Trail Blazers stole the ball and it was then a 2-point game. Harden went almost four minutes without making a single shot, and when he drew a foul, he missed both free throws with 13.3 seconds left. The Trail Blazers tied it with 6.1 left. Paul saved the day when he threw the ball up off the backboard for a field goal. There was only .8 seconds left and the Trail Blazers had no chance to score to tie it or win it. The Rockets one yet again 96-94 for a season sweep on the Trail Blazers.
Rockets vs. Thunder
The Rockets unfortunately lost their final home game of the regular season ending their 20-game winning streak. On April 7th, The Rockets played the Oklahoma City Thunder, who were currently 7th in the Western Conference standings, for the last time until possibly the playoffs. Gordon and Anderson were both out again due to injuries. Starting for the Rockets was Paul, Harden, Ariza, Tucker, and Capela. For the Thunder, Westbrook, Brewer, George, Anthony, and Adams.
Tip-off went to the Thunder and Westbrook scored the first field goal. Ariza knocked down a 3 for the Rockets’ first points followed by Tucker with a corner 3, and they were 2 for 2 from downtown. A pass from the Rockets was deflected and George finished for the Thunder. Tucker nailed another 3, an alley-oop from Tucker to Capela, and at this point Tucker already had 8 points in the first four minutes of the game. Adams, from the Thunder, tied the game 17-17 and that was the first of many ties that night. Following that, Anthony hit a 3 to take the lead, then Johnson threw an air ball and Westbrook for a drive and layup adding to their lead. It was a 9-0 run for the Thunder with 3:43 left until Nenê shot and made 2 free throws. The Thunder then took a quick 8-point lead, but the Rockets closed in with a lot of contact for Harden. Paul then knocked down his first 3 from straight on which took the Rockets to 30 points and a 4-point deficit. Unfortunately, though, Anthony threw it down taking it back to 6. The Thunder led 36-30.
Nenê drew a foul to start off the second quarter, missed both, followed by Green drawing a foul as well, but instead he made both of them. Paul made a jump shot, and the Rockets were only down by 2. At this point in the quarter, the Thunder had yet to score which allowed for the Rockets to take the lead by 1 when Mbah a Moute made a 3 after Nenê’s shot was blocked by Grant. Both teams had made 5 3s each up until George made a 3 which got him to 11 points and a 2-point lead for the Thunder. Then, Grant knocked down a 3 along with a few other shots by them taking it to a 9-point lead. Green, doing his thing, went for a quick release 3 and scored! With seven minutes left in the quarter, Westbrook already had 6 assists, and the Thunder then took on an 11-point lead for the largest of the night. Harden was getting close to having another double-double because he currently had 10 points and 5 assists. Brewer got his first personal foul when he tried to steal the ball from Harden but Harden fell down and got hit in the face. Harden made both of those free throws. With just 3:38 left, it was an 8-0 run for the Rockets for the past 2:26 minutes. As much as Mike D’Antoni didn’t like the call, a technical foul was called on Paul when he stopped and bent over in the middle of the quart and Westbrook fell over him. The Thunder got to shoot a free throw because of this. Harden knocked down another 3 which took it to a 1-point game, but Anthony was red hot for the 3s because he was 3 for 3 from downtown. The Thunder took the lead yet again. 15 of Harden’s 19 points were from this quarter alone. Ending out the quarter with 52.1 seconds left, Mbah a Moute went for a nice fake and then knocked down a 3 right as the shot clock expired tying the game. The Rockets led this time 62-61.
Anthony, George, and Westbrook were all in double figures to start the third quarter. Tucker shot and made a long 2 for his first points, but Westbrook proceeded to tie the game 64-64 with a free throw. Tucker picked up his 4th foul and Westbrook had 3. It felt like for a couple solid minutes that the game was tied 66-66 when both teams kept missing shots, but then Capela scored to take the lead for the Rockets. George barreled into Capela for an offensive foul and his 3rd foul of the night. Luckily, Mbah a Moute was able to finish off of that foul. With 2.1 seconds left to shoot on the shot clock, you already know Green made another quick 3 which took their lead to 4. A blocking foul was called on Nenê, Anthony got hit by Johnson going for a 3, plus a technical foul was called which allowed the Thunder to get 4 quick points after George made the one free throw and Anthony made the other 3. This tied the game yet again 73-73 with 1:02 left in the third. Only 27 seconds left and a steal from Mbah a Moute, Paul got the chance for a 4-point play when he got knocked down when he shot and made a 3. He of course made the free throw to complete the 4-point play and took the lead for the Rockets up to 6 which was their largest of the night. The Rockets led 83-80.
Green laid it in for the Rockets first points to start the final quarter. The Rockets pass was deflected and Abrines scored to take the lead for the Thunder in a 3-point play, but Harden for a step back 3 took it to a 1-point game. Paul with a crossover, missed, then got the offensive rebound, and followed through when he scored from a step back field goal. A few possessions later, Harden striped and stole the ball, passed to Green to score 2 for his 9th assist which took the lead for the Rockets by 1. Following that, Westbrook made a 3 taking back the lead for the Thunder and then right after that, he was all alone for the slam. Just like that, they were back up by 4. Grant picked up a foul when he landed on Ariza. The Rockets were doing whatever they could but with 3:20 left, they were down by 10. The Rockets went on a bit of a dry spell for about four and a half minutes until Tucker knocked down his famous corner 3 taking it down to 7, but with just a minute left, the Thunder’s lead was back up to 10. With only 49 seconds remaining, Tucker made another corner 3. Capela blocked the ball and Paul laid it up and in taking it to a 5-point deficit. Then, Ariza went to the rim to throw it down but they were still down by 5 and time was running out. In the final seconds, the Rockets lost the ball and the Thunder won 108-102. It was a great game, but I just wish it would have ended differently.
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