Due to a right quad strain, the Houston Rockets didn’t have All-Star guard Russell Westbrook in Tuesday’s dominant Game 1 win over Oklahoma City. Thanks to Eric Gordon, many might not have noticed.
Starting at guard in Westbrook’s place, Gordon had 21 points and four assists in Houston’s 123-108 victory (box score) in Tuesday’s Game 1 of the first-round series in the 2020 NBA playoffs.
MVP finalist James Harden led the way with 37 points and 11 rebounds. But in his postgame comments, “The Beard” wanted to talk about Gordon.
When asked if he was impressed by Gordon’s performance, Harden said:
Not really. Eric is more than capable. He’s just battled injuries, but he’s one of the most skilled guys that we have in this league. He’s able to beat his guy off the bounce, create opportunities for his teammates, and obviously shoot the 3 at a high level. He’s finally healthy. He’s finally getting his swag and his rhythm back. It’s scary for defenses because they have to guard him.
Gordon was Houston’s No. 3 scorer in the regular season at 14.4 points per game, but he missed half (36) of the team’s games due to various leg injuries. He’s healthy now, though, and Tuesday’s showing proved it.
“Eric Gordon is like a wild card for them because of his ability to shoot and drive,” Thunder star Chris Paul said postgame. “We have to figure out what we are going to take away. To let the other guys get going is tough.”
Chris Paul: "It's tough — they play like that for a reason. We keep talking about it, but Eric Gordon is like a wildcard for them because of his ability to shoot and drive. We have to figure out what we are going to take away. To let the other guys get going is tough."
— Coty Davis (@CotyDavis_24) August 19, 2020
“It’s all about playmaking,” Gordon told reporters. “I’m going to continue to attack the rim, or even knock down a shot. That’s the great thing about my game, I can always attack the rim, and I can always penetrate and kick to someone else. I’m not really worried about what I need to do. I just have to continue to playmake and make the right decisions.”
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Last Wednesday, when Gordon returned in Houston’s second-to-last game of the regular season after missing two weeks with a sprained ankle, the 31-year-old registered six turnovers in just 20 minutes.
But over the last two games, including Tuesday’s playoff opener, Gordon has had just three turnovers combined in 53 minutes. As a team, Houston had just seven overall as compared to 12 for the Thunder, and head coach Mike D’Antoni credited that and their defense for the success.
“Since we’re undersized, we have to play that way, be flying around,” D’Antoni said postgame. “Once we play with that intensity, the speed that we’re playing with makes it tough on teams. As a team, it was great defense, and we didn’t turn the ball over.”
Gordon, whose physical defense flustered All-Star guards like Donovan Mitchell and Klay Thompson in previous playoff runs, spent time Tuesday covering Paul, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Dennis Schroder. Combined, the Thunder guard trio shot just 12-of-34 overall (35.3%).
“Eric played well, but I think he’ll even play better,” D’Antoni said of Gordon’s Game 1 performance. “It goes without saying, with or without Russell, he’s an important piece that we have.”
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Now in his fourth playoff run with the Rockets, Gordon says the team knows what it has to do as it pursues its first NBA title of the Harden era. The Rockets had answers for each of Oklahoma City’s runs in the second half of Game 1, never allowing them to come within single digits.
“It definitely means a lot, because we’ve been together for at least four years now,” Gordon said of postgame. “We know what it takes. We’re an older, veteran team, and we know this is a game full of runs. As long as we make the most runs, we know things are going to go our way.”
Game 2 between the Rockets and Thunder will tip off at 2:30 p.m. Central time on Thursday afternoon. It will be televised nationally on ESPN and regionally on AT&T SportsNet Southwest.
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