The Houston Rockets are known for shooting the most 3-pointers of any NBA team, yet their top three players in minutes per game (James Harden, Russell Westbrook, and P.J. Tucker shot just 2-of-18 (11.1%) from behind the arc in Wednesday’s Game 7 versus Oklahoma City.
Even so, they still connected on 17 treys — one more than the 16 by the Thunder — and that margin ended up being the difference in a thrilling 104-102 victory. With the win, Houston advances to the second round of the Western Conference playoffs to face the Los Angeles Lakers.
Ben McLemore, who leads the Rockets in 3-point accuracy on the season, didn’t play at all in Game 7 — presumably due to defensive concerns. Head coach Mike D’Antoni said pregame that he wanted to lean more on veterans in the pressure of an elimination game.
So, how did the Rockets still make 17 treys? Nearly two-thirds came from forward Robert Covington and guard Eric Gordon, who combined to hit an astounding 11-of-20 on 3-pointers (55%). Two of Covington’s team-high six 3-pointers came during a 13-8 run by the Rockets over the final 8:13 of Game 7, which sent them to the second round.
RoCo came up big tonight!
🏀 21PTS
🔥 6 3PT@reliantenergy l #OneMission pic.twitter.com/08Xv7yJM5g— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) September 3, 2020
Speaking postgame, Covington said:
That’s what I’m here for. Gotta lock in, and in the last few games, I’ve been feeling really good. My routine has really helped. Just being prepared and getting things together. Just staying within the offense, doing the right things, making the right plays. Every shot felt good except for maybe like one or two. I’m confident in my shot—even when they don’t fall I’m still believe the next one will fall and you always gotta have that confidence as a shooter.
In all, Covington shot 50% or better on 3-pointers in each of his final five games of the first-round series versus Oklahoma City.
Covington and Gordon tied for Houston’s scoring lead with 21 points each, and the versatile 6-foot-8 forward also grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds. That helped the Rockets stay competitive with the larger Thunder in the rebounding battle, which OKC won by only two.
Meanwhile, the 6-foot-3 guard bounced back from a rough 1-of-6 showing (16.7%) on 3-pointers in Game 6 to make 5-of-9 (55.6%) in Game 7. In postgame comments about Gordon’s big game, Westbrook said:
It’s huge. That’s what we do. We drive and make plays for our shooters. We live and die by — and trust — the ability to make shots, and Eric is one of those guys. We’re gonna need him moving forward. Today he played well, and he’s going to play well moving forward.
D’Antoni also credited Gordon’s defense with helping slow All-Star guard Chris Paul for the Thunder. After Paul torched the Rockets late in Game 6, he didn’t score at all in the final seven minutes of Game 7 — with Gordon’s aggressive defense making it almost impossible for Oklahoma City to screen him off the ball, as they did in the previous game.
“I thought everybody had a part in it,” D’Antoni said of his team’s thrilling Game 7 victory. “Everybody did something great. The way Eric guarded Chris Paul towards the end was terrific. So there’s so many guys that contributed. We couldn’t have fought any harder. We could have played better, but we couldn’t have fought any harder.”
Covington and Gordon even outscored the All-Star backcourt of Harden and Westbrook, which reflects both the totality of the team’s effort and their ability to overcome unexpected adversity.
With the victory, the Rockets are moving on to the second round of the playoffs for a star-studded matchup against LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers. Tip-off of Game 1 is set for 8:00 p.m. Central on Friday, with the game broadcast nationally on ESPN.
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