The Thunder’s 2020 playoff run got off to an inauspicious start as, even without Russell Westbrook in the lineup, the Houston Rockets were able to dominate Chris Paul and co. en route to a 123-108 victory in Game 1.
In the end, the Thunder simply had no answer for James Harden, who scored 37 points on 12-for-22 shooting from the field. Eric Gordon, who started in place of Russell Westbrook, had 21 points, three rebounds and four assists.
After the contest, Paul met with reporters. He’s been in the league for quite some time and has seen just about everything there is to see in the postseason.
He had a simple message for his teammates.
“Stay with it. Stay with it. One game at a time,” he said Tuesday night.
“The thing about the playoffs — can’t get too high, can’t get too low. Just stay focused, keep learning each game. Each game, we’re gonna learn something about them, they’re gonna learn something about us.”
One thing that remained the same for Houston in Game 1, though, was its dominance from three-point territory. The Rockets were 20-for-52 from distance and outscored the Thunder from the three-point line by 21 points.
“IT’s tough, they play like that for a reason, it’s no secret to nobody. We keep talking about it, Eric Gordon is like a wildcard for them… We gotta figure out what we’re gonna try to take away.”
With Westbrook potentially returning for Game 3, the Thunder saw an opportunity pass them by.
Obviously, with Game 2 on the horizon, Billy Donovan will do his best to get his troops ready and refocused on executing a successful gameplan.
For sure, Chris Paul will be doing the same.