http://www.chron.com/sports/rockets/article/Rockets-hold-off-Warriors-in-powerhouse-matchup-12512877.php
Rockets hold off Warriors in powerhouse matchup
Updated 1:38 am, Sunday, January 21, 2018
Chris Paul discusses the Rockets' win over the Warriors on Saturday night.
Media: Houston ChronicleThe rust was gone, the minutes restriction forgotten, or at least ignored with no one able to keep James Harden off the floor, stopping him from his place on a night like this.
The Rockets and Warriors had chased each other into the final minutes, a last regular-season meeting before they could as many predict meet in May. The Rockets led the Warriors, a team that lives for such moments, by three. Harden was isolated on Stephen Curry and went to work.
Harden hit Curry with the crossovers that melt others, but Curry held firm until the shot clock was down to its last ticks. With that, Harden nailed his 3-pointer with 70 seconds remaining. When he blocked Curry's answer, the Rockets finished off a 116-108 Saturday night special win, with their star backcourt delivering the final punch.
"To beat a champion like them, you got to knock them out," Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni said. "They're not going to just lose. In the fourth quarter, to hold to 17 was obviously key. Guys stepped up. P.J. (Tucker) stepped up. It's a man's game. He had the guts to go in and fire them up. James hits the dagger. Chris Paul was on all game. There were just a lot of good things.
"They're still the champions. I told the team during the timeout, 'You have to knock them out.' It's like a heavyweight fight. There's no TKOs."
Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) talks to guard Eric Gordon (10) during a break in the action during the second quarter of an NBA basketball game at Toyota Center on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2018, in Houston. ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle )
lessHouston Rockets guard James Harden (13) talks to guard Eric Gordon (10) during a break in the action during the second quarter of an NBA basketball game at Toyota Center on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2018, in Houston.
... moreHouston Rockets guard Chris Paul (3) takes the ball from Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) during the fourth quarter of an NBA basketball game at Toyota Center on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2018, in Houston. ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle )
lessHouston Rockets guard Chris Paul (3) takes the ball from Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) during the fourth quarter of an NBA basketball game at Toyota Center on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2018, in
... moreGolden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) grabs Houston Rockets guard James Harden's arm as he tries to go for a steal during the second half of an NBA basketball game at Toyota Center on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2018, in Houston. ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle )
lessGolden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) grabs Houston Rockets guard James Harden's arm as he tries to go for a steal during the second half of an NBA basketball game at Toyota Center on Saturday, Jan.
... moreFormer University of Houston great Elvin Hayes waves to the crowd as he is introduced to the fans at the Houston Rockets game against the Golden State Warriors at Toyota Center on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2018, in Houston. Hayes was a guest of the Rockets commemorating the 50th anniversary of the "Game of the Century" basketball game between UH and UCAL at the Astrodome. ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle )
lessFormer University of Houston great Elvin Hayes waves to the crowd as he is introduced to the fans at the Houston Rockets game against the Golden State Warriors at Toyota Center on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2018, in
... moreHouston Rockets center Clint Capela (15) shoots around the defense of Golden State Warriors center Zaza Pachulia (27) during the first quarter of an NBA basketball game at Toyota Center on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2018, in Houston. ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle )
lessHouston Rockets center Clint Capela (15) shoots around the defense of Golden State Warriors center Zaza Pachulia (27) during the first quarter of an NBA basketball game at Toyota Center on Saturday, Jan. 20,
... moreGolden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) grabs Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) during the second half of an NBA basketball game at Toyota Center on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2018, in Houston. ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle )
lessGolden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) grabs Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) during the second half of an NBA basketball game at Toyota Center on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2018, in Houston. ( Brett
... moreHouston Rockets guard James Harden (13) cheers as he walks back up court after hitting a shot during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Golden State Warriors at Toyota Center on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2018, in Houston. ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle )
lessHouston Rockets guard James Harden (13) cheers as he walks back up court after hitting a shot during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Golden State Warriors at Toyota Center on Saturday,
... moreHouston Rockets guard James Harden (13) goes after a loose ball with Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant (35) during the second half of an NBA basketball game at Toyota Center on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2018, in Houston. ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle )
lessHouston Rockets guard James Harden (13) goes after a loose ball with Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant (35) during the second half of an NBA basketball game at Toyota Center on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2018,
... moreHouston Rockets head coach Mike D'Antoni yells as he runs up the sideline during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Golden State Warriors at Toyota Center on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2018, in Houston. ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle )
lessHouston Rockets head coach Mike D'Antoni yells as he runs up the sideline during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Golden State Warriors at Toyota Center on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2018, in
... moreHouston Rockets head coach Mike D'Antoni yells as he runs up the sideline during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Golden State Warriors at Toyota Center on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2018, in Houston. ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle )
lessHouston Rockets head coach Mike D'Antoni yells as he runs up the sideline during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Golden State Warriors at Toyota Center on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2018, in
... moreHouston Rockets head coach Mike D'Antoni argues a call with referee Jason Phillips (23) during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Golden State Warriors at Toyota Center on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2018, in Houston. ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle )
lessHouston Rockets head coach Mike D'Antoni argues a call with referee Jason Phillips (23) during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Golden State Warriors at Toyota Center on Saturday, Jan. 20,
... moreHouston Rockets guard James Harden (13) and Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) go after a loose ball during the second half of an NBA basketball game at Toyota Center on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2018, in Houston. ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle )
lessHouston Rockets guard James Harden (13) and Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) go after a loose ball during the second half of an NBA basketball game at Toyota Center on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2018, in
... moreGolden State Warriors guard Nick Young (6) falls to the floor as he is defended by Houston Rockets forward Luc Mbah a Moute (12) during the second half of an NBA basketball game at Toyota Center on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2018, in Houston. ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle )
lessGolden State Warriors guard Nick Young (6) falls to the floor as he is defended by Houston Rockets forward Luc Mbah a Moute (12) during the second half of an NBA basketball game at Toyota Center on Saturday,
... moreA Houston Rockets fans holds up a sign cheering on Rockets guard James Harden during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2018, in Houston. ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle )
lessA Houston Rockets fans holds up a sign cheering on Rockets guard James Harden during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2018, in
... moreHad the Rockets held Harden to the 30 minutes they planned for him in his second game back, he would not have been on the floor at all when the game was decided. Instead, he returned with 4:24 remaining and the Rockets clinging to a one-point lead, and then teamed with Paul to drive them through the finish.
If anyone suggested that Harden not return, D'Antoni pretended he could not hear them and knew Harden would not have listened, anyway.
"This side is deaf," D'Antoni said. 'I don't hear too well in certain situations. Anyway, they know better than that. They have to deal with James. I'm a pushover. James wasn't coming out. And we said if James plays 15 minutes the first half, the second half, we can kind of fudge it a little bit as long as it wasn't long stretches. He deserved to finish the game."
With that, the Rockets' star backcourt outplayed the Warriors'. Paul led the Rockets with 33 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. Harden added 22 points with eight assists. The Warriors combination of Curry and Klay Thompson combined for 27 points on 9 of 31 shooting.
With the win, the Rockets moved within 3 ½ games of the Warriors, two in the loss column, and clinched the tie-breaker between the teams.
They got it by owning the final three minutes.
The Warriors had outscored the Rockets, 11-2, to head into the fourth quarter within one. By then, with the Golden State offense rolling, the Rockets seemed unable to do much to slow them, having to rely on whatever offense Harden and Paul could manufacture to keep pace.
The Warriors had made 68.8 percent of their shots in the third quarter, including 6 of 9 from deep. They needed less than two minutes to take their first lead since the first minute. When they took their largest lead, four points, they were making 64 percent of their second half shots.
The Rockets were having trouble finding enough scoring to hold off the Golden State charge. Eric Gordon was off, missing all nine of his 3-pointers. With Trevor Ariza and Gerald Green serving the second game of their suspensions, the Rockets offense was relying heavily on Paul and Harden and Clint Capela finishing inside.
Paul checked back in to stop the bleeding with a 3-pointer. After the Rockets finally strung together a series of stops, Paul put in a pair of free throws to put the Rockets back in front and set up a finish with the lead going back and forth with each bucket feeling like a roundhouse punch.
By then, the Rockets were getting defensive stops. Kevin Durant put in a jumper over Gordon to pull the Warriors within one, but Tucker sank a jumper in the lane. After Thompson missed a jumper, the Rockets ran to a good look, but Tucker missed his corner 3 with 2:16 remaining.
Thompson twice missed 3s to allow the Rockets to stay in front, setting up Harden for the clincher.
