The Oklahoma City Thunder have bounced back so far in Game Two, leading the Houston Rockets 59-53 at halftime.
Four Thunder players have double-digit points: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Danilo Gallinari both have 13, Chris Paul has 10, and Dennis Schroder has 10 off the bench.
The only Rockets player who has gotten going is Austin Rivers, who has a team-high 11 points with three 3-pointers off the bench.
James Harden has struggled against the Oklahoma City defense. He is 2-for-10 from the field and 1-for-8 from 3. A 34-points-per-game scorer, Harden has just eight a the half.
Oklahoma City only committed six foul over the first two quarters.
That’s an absurdly low number by any measure, but it’s even more impressive against the Rockets and Harden, whose game revolves around drawing fouls.
Harden attempted three free throws. Eric Gordon attempted two. No other Rockets player got to the free throw line.
Meanwhile, the Thunder were 11-for-13 from the stripe.
On offense, the improved play of Schroder and Gilgeous-Alexander has been the key for Oklahoma City.
In 19 minutes, Gilgeous-Alexander was a plus-12. He made four of 10 shots, but took five free throws and had four assists. Schroder was 4-for-7 from the field with a 3 and a free throw.
After combining for 15 points on 5-for-20 shooting in Game One, the two have turned it around, scoring 23 points on 8-for-17 shooting.
Lu Dort re-entered the starting lineup. While he didn’t score any points in the first, half, he played strong defense, much of which was on Harden, and was a plus-8 in 12 minutes.
The Rockets attempted 35 3s in the first half, the most by a team in playoff history.
They started hot, but missed the final 15. After scoring 35 points in the first quarter, Houston only mustered 18 in the second.
In the second half, the Thunder will need to continue the strong defense while limiting their fouls, and the guards will need to continue being aggressive.
One adjustment to make: Houston had eight offensive rebounds, twice as many as the Thunder.
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