NBA
James Harden Comes Back To Earth, Rockets Top Raptors 121-119
By the time the Toronto Raptors called their first quarter timeout with 6:58 remaining, the Houston Rockets had built a 16-8 advantage. As a result, it only got worse from there.
Obviously, the big question heading into this game was: Just how many points would James Harden score tonight?
Fresh off his NBA-season high 61 points against the New York Knicks, would he score 60 again? 70? or even 80? (The Raptors infamously gave up 81 to Kobe Bryant that terrible night so many years ago, so it’s not like it’s without precedent.)
By the end of the first quarter, Harden’s stat line was 7 points on 2-7 shooting. However, it was everybody else that was the problem. Houston increased their lead to 33-20, and Raptors’ fans got the feeling that this was going to be a long night. Kenneth Faried had 8 rebounds – in the first quarter alone!
Raptors Take the Punch From the Rockets, Hit Back
By the time the Raptors called their second quarter timeout with 8:11 remaining, Houston had increased their commanding lead to 48-26, with Harden on the bench.
However, the Raptors remembered that they had the best record in the NBA (tie).
Kawhi Leonard led the comeback charge, and as a result, the Raptors turned the 22-point deficit to nine at halftime. They went into the locker room at halftime down 70-61. Leonard had 17 points on 5-7 shooting and went 5-5 from the free throw line. Harden had 13 points on 3-11 shooting, 6-6 from the line.
Raptors Slowly Chip Away
The Rockets built the momentum yet again in the third quarter, pushing the lead to 92-74 at the 4:03 mark in the period. The Harden show began in earnest, as he broke free from the Raptors’ wing defenders to put his point total to 27 on 8/17 shooting at the Raptors’ third quarter timeout. In this perpetual game of runs, Toronto made an effective counterpunch, ending the third quarter trailing Houston 96-89.
Kenneth Faried Becomes “Manimal”
Photo finish coming up. Norman Powell led the fourth quarter charge to pull Toronto within five to make it 99-94 with 8:34 left. Then Leonard checked in to play against Harden for the duration of the game. Houston stepped up their defensive intensity, anchored by the Energizer Bunny disguised as Faried. As a result, he affected the outcome of this game far more than any other player on the court – including Harden who’s the NBA’s scoring leader.
The Improbable Final Minute
With the game winding down, the impossible/improbable happened: Harden sunk 2 free throws with 1:14 remaining in the game, putting the Rockets up 121-110. However, in the ensuing 47 seconds, the Raptors scored 9 points – mostly on a series of dumb turnovers and lackluster effort on defense by the Rockets. The Raptors also turned the momentum around quickly, and this yo-yo game had the photo finish it deserved: Leonard air-balled a 3 at the buzzer to lose the game, and an NBA rivalry begins… Obviously, it wasn’t a satisfying result for a Raptors fan, but a brilliant game for every basketball fan. A game decided by the final shot at the buzzer also is as good as it gets…
Final result: Houston 121, Toronto 119
Notable Performances:
James Harden – 35 points, 9-25 FG, 15-15 FT, 2 REB, 7 AST, 1 BLK
Kenneth Faried – 21 points, 8-11 FG, 14 REB, 2 BLK
Eric Gordon – 24 points, 8-22 FG, 2 REB, 3 STL, 1 BLK
Kawhi Leonard – 32 points, 11-19 FG, 7-7 FT, 7 REB, 5 AST, 2 BLK
Pascal Siakim – 22 points, 9-15 FG, 12 REB, 3 AST
Danny Green – 22 points, 8-14 FG, 6-10 3PT, 1 REB, 1 AST, 1 BLK, +12 (led team)
Next Game:
Raptors play the Dallas Mavericks @ 7pm on Sunday, January 27th in Dallas.
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Photo Credit
Basketball Forecast via Flickr
