Harden’s Garden: The Beard’s 61 Points Carry Rockets Past Knicks, 114-110
King of New York. Splash Gordon Gets Déjà Vu. Don’t Blink.
“From now on, nothing goes down unless I’m involved”, Frank White claims, after the going gets rough, in the under-seen masterpiece, King of New York. A crown James Harden can also claim, after roasting the Big Apple for 61 points and leading the Rockets to a 114-110 victory, over the woeful Knicks on Wednesday night. The going got rough for Houston in a sloppy game at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks grabbed momentum late, and almost spoiled another game for the Rockets. This contest was sloppy, and Houston was barely able to escape New York with a victory. Lucky for the Rockets, Harden owned the Garden. The 61 points were a career-high for the Beard, who continues to set records, it seems, with each passing game. Eric “Splash” Gordon saved the day again with a go-ahead three-pointer to give the Rockets the lead for good after they trailed 112-110 in the final minute. Houston almost blew the contest on several occasions. P.J. Tucker, in the most head-scratching play of the year, almost literally gave the game to the Knicks. Tucker let an inbounds toss from Gordon just sit under the basket, until a Knick finally grabbed the ball for a lay-up. The Knicks had a chance to win the game on the final possession, until Harden simply had enough, stole the ball for a signature dunk that gave him 61 points, and sealed the win for the Rockets.
Despite all the glory around Harden’s career-game, the reality is: since Houston couldn’t come to a contract agreement with Danuel House Jr., they’re two Eric Gordon clutch three-pointers from being 0-4 since departing with the undervalued glue-guy. Beating the Knicks was supposed to happen for the Rockets, but they weren’t supposed to sweat the contest down the stretch. Another game that was way too close for Houston, as all of their victories have been since House went back to the G-League. Hopefully when Chris Paul returns, and eventually Clint Capela, these deficiencies left by House’s absence will be masked. Otherwise the Rockets will be in trouble when they face elite competition. Splash Gordon has been a lifesaver, finishing with 20-points to go along with that clutch shot late in the game. Kenneth Faried, in his 2nd game as a Rocket, finished 3rd on the team in scoring again, this time with 11 points and 8 rebounds in 26 minutes. Faried has quietly been a pleasant addition to the roster, and will bolster the bench when the once the squad is at full-health. Once Paul and Capela come back, Houston’s depth-chart will be maximized, along with any potential trades that may happen before the deadline.
Don’t blink. You could miss a record-breaking moment from Harden, a game-saving three from Splash Gordon, or even an unexplainable brain-dead play from P.J. Tucker. And in the blink of an eye, the Rockets go from facing the 2nd, worst team in the East, to facing the 2nd best, in the Toronto Raptors. This will arguably be Houston’s toughest game thus far, with no Chris Paul and Clint Capela, going up against one of the league’s best teams. Raptors superstar Kawhi Leonard has missed the previous 4 games, including resting the last contest to prepare for Harden. Leonard is one of the game’s best two-way players, with Toronto being one of the deepest teams in the NBA. They will wreak havoc on the glass and cause a rebounding nightmare for Houston if everyone in red doesn’t crash the boards. Chris Paul has been upgraded to questionable to play, but I think they will hold him out until Sunday for precautionary reasons. Capela is certainly out, but one thing’s for sure… Nothing’s going down unless Harden’s involved, and when the Beard’s playing, the Rockets always have a chance.