Harden’s Rockets Splash Past LeBron-Less Lakers, 113-97
Return of the Mac. The GreenHouse Effect, Pt. 2. Beating the Best.
Without the King for L.A., and Brodie for Houston, the Rockets and Lakers proved, at least under those circumstances, Houston’s the better team. The Rockets pummeled the Lakers, 113-97 on Friday night, for their third win in four games of bubble action. James Harden led the way for Houston with 39 points, 12 dimes, and 8 boards. Unsurprisingly, the Beard returned to form against a sub-par Lakers team missing the King. Harden shot 11-for-19, including 50% from deep, as he made just missing the 40-point mark look easy. The Rockets led by as many as 19 points, but L.A. chipped into Houston’s lead, getting as close as 5 points, before the Rockets put closed the door on the Lake Show’s chances. Whether you’re surprised by now or not, it doesn’t matter, he’s here to stay: Ben McLemore continues to turn in red-hot performances for Houston on a nightly basis. Benny Mac scored 20 points, second only to Harden on the squad, and shot 50% from long range. McLemore has been arguably the hottest three-point shooter in the bubble. If the rest of the role players on the squad can find a Benny Mac-type rhythm, the Rockets are going to be a tough out any night.
Speaking of role players… you know the name, only this time, it’s a different blend of Green: The GreenHouse Effect is back (with Jeff instead of Gerald Green this time around). Danuel House and Jeff Green have been superb along with McLemore in the first four games in the bubble. They took a step back from their trend of consistency from the perimeter, but nonetheless, against L.A. the two combined for 29 points, and their defense has modeled Robert Covington and P.J. Tucker’s relentless hustle at-all-costs attitude. As the Rockets continue to fight for seeding with the playoffs only games away, the squad needs the GreenHouse Effect dialed all the way up these final four games.
The Lakers didn’t have LeBron James on Friday, and really didn’t have anything to play for, but a win’s a win for Houston. And the victory gave the Rockets the best record in the NBA against teams with winning records. They’ve only lost the season series to one winning club, Chris Paul and the Oklahoma City Thunder. A potential first round-playoff matchup for the Houston, and as we near get closer ad closer it looks more likely that the Rockets and Thunder will meet in the first round. Russ vs. CP3 after getting traded for one another… what a series that would be. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, Houston still has work to do if they want to get a better matchup in the first round. Up next for the Rockets: their worst nightmare… a team with losing record. Houston is 3-0 against winning teams, and 0-1 against losing teams in the bubble. On Sunday night, they’ll try and end that trend against the Sacramento Kings.