Game 6, Rockets vs. Thunder: How and what to watch for

Houston has an opportunity on Monday to close out the Thunder and advance to the second round, where they would face the Lakers.

Historically, in NBA playoff series that are tied after four games, the winner of Game 5 has ultimately won the best-of-seven series more than 80% of the time. Will Houston be able to continue that trend?

That’s what is on the line in Monday night’s Game 6 between the Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder, with tip-off scheduled for 8:00 p.m. Central at the league’s Disney World “bubble” complex in Florida.

Through five games, the “home” team is a perfect 5-0 in the first-round series. That includes Saturday’s Game 5, in which the Rockets won by 114-80 — the biggest margin of any playoff win in franchise history. The 80 points allowed is the fewest of any game coached by Mike D’Antoni since he took the Houston job in 2016, both regular season and playoffs.

In theory, home-court advantage shouldn’t mean much at the bubble, since there are no in-person fans. But there are more sections of virtual fans, along with other benefits such as piped-in sounds from the host team’s usual arena. If those are beneficial, it could help the “host” Thunder in Game 6. After all, their two wins came as the home team.

As for basketball, Houston’s priorities are becoming more clear:

  • Avoiding turnovers: Houston is averaging 8.3 turnovers per game in their three wins, and 14.5 in the two losses. “If we can keep it below 10, we’ve got a good shot,” D’Antoni said postgame.
  • Defense: The Rockets have the NBA’s No. 1 defense in net rating in the 2020 playoffs, and they limited the Thunder to 35 points in the second half and 80 for the game in Saturday’s blowout. Sharpshooting forward Danilo Gallinari, who led OKC in scoring during the regular season, was held to a season-low 1 point on just five shot attempts.
  • Harden figuring out Dort: Through three games, the defense of rookie guard Lu Dort had caused problems for Rockets star James Harden. That changed dramatically in Game 4 and especially Game 5, when Harden scored 31 points on 11-of-15 shooting (73.3%). Houston also baited Dort, a poor shooter on offense, into a team-high 16 shot attempts. He made only three of those (18.8%).
  • Integrating Russ: After missing over two weeks with a right quad strain, Russell Westbrook was understandably rusty in his Game 5 return, missing 10 of 13 shots. But D’Antoni said Sunday that Westbrook “feels fine,” physically, and he should knock off the rust as he plays more. Westbrook did have seven assists to zero turnovers, and the Rockets credited his energy and leadership in the big win.
  • Feeding the hot hand: Robert Covington has shot 50% or better from 3-point range in three straight games, including 6-of-11 (54.5%) in a 22-point outburst during Game 5.
  • Slash Gordon: Through the first three games of the series, Eric Gordon was shooting just 34.4% from the field, and more than 40% of his overall attempts were from 3-point range. In Game 5, only three of his 17 shots were 3-pointers, and Gordon hit 9 of 14 shots (64.3%) inside the arc. “If the 3-point shot isn’t going in, I’m going to take the ball to the basket,” said Gordon, who has averaged 21.5 points in Game 4 and Game 5. “I’m going to score either way.”

The Thunder did rally to tie the series after losing the first two games, and D’Antoni expects to see similar resilience in Game 6. “They’re not going anywhere,” Houston’s coach said after Game 5. “It’s going to be a dog fight the next game, and we’ll see what happens.”

D’Antoni continued his comments:

To close people out is one of the hardest things to do. [This game] doesn’t mean anything. We’ve got to win the next game, and they’ve got to win the next game. There will be no letting down, hopefully, on our side. There better not be. It doesn’t matter. We just throw the records out,

Houston forward P.J. Tucker and Oklahoma City guard Dennis Schroder were each fined $25,000 by the NBA for their Game 5 scuffle, but neither will be suspended for Game 6. As Schroder attempted to navigate around a Tucker screen, he made below-the-belt contact with Tucker’s groin area. Tucker, understandably enraged by the act, yelled at Schroder and gave him a light headbutt to the back of his head. Both were ejected.

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Schroder said his contact was unintentional, though Tucker stated at Houston’s practice on Sunday that he did not buy that explanation. He also said Schroder had not reached out to him to discuss the incident, which could make for some tense moments on the court in Game 6.

Game 6 between the Rockets and Thunder tips off at 8:00 p.m. Central, with a national broadcast on TNT and a regional version (with Houston announcers) on AT&T SportsNet Southwest.

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