The Raptors doubled Rockets star James Harden early and often, and hot shooting from teammates such as Ben McLemore made them pay for that strategy as Houston won Thursday night at Toronto, 119-109 (box score).
The Rockets made 22-of-55 (40.0%) of their three-pointers as a team, which helped them secure a statement victory on the road against the defending NBA champion Raptors (15-6). With the win, Houston improved to 14-7 and ensured there would be no hangover or spiraling effect from Tuesday’s late collapse in San Antonio.
Role players were a big part of the story, with McLemore’s career-high 28 points leading the way — headlined by an 8-of-17 showing (47.1%) from behind the three-point arc. P.J. Tucker had 18 points and 11 rebounds, including 5-of-10 (50%) on three-pointers, while Danuel House Jr. scored 16 points in the first half alone. House came off the bench behind McLemore with slightly reduced minutes, owing to his recent illness.
Haven't seen this since Steph.
James Harden has Fred VanVleet completely shading over to help even though he's already being full-court pressed. Leaves Ben McLemore open for 3. pic.twitter.com/2lJ7LsP3qq
— Salman Ali (@SalmanAliNBA) December 6, 2019
Ben McLemore had EIGHT 3-Pointers & 28 PTS in the Rockets WIN at Toronto! 🚀#OneMission | @BenMcLemore pic.twitter.com/SZPwIzB3pm
— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) December 6, 2019
Harden didn’t get to shoot often given Toronto’s aggressive defense, but he was efficient in limited chances with 23 points on 7-of-11 shooting (63.6%), including 3-of-5 (60%) on three-pointers. The 11 attempts were the fewest of any game this season for Harden, who leads the NBA in scoring and entered Thursday averaging a historic 39.5 points per game.
While getting double teamed as soon as he crosses half court on every possession https://t.co/hkL7S9Bv0p
— Matt Bullard (@bull50) December 6, 2019
Meanwhile, Russell Westbrook — who frequently had to initiate Houston’s offense, given how the Raptors forced the ball out of Harden’s hands — had his first triple-double since Nov. 18 with 19 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 assists. His shooting slump continued with a poor 7-of-27 showing (25.9%), but he did make his points count, with over half of them (10) coming in the fourth quarter in a tight game.
#Rockets ball-handlers know this is always available. When Harden is standing off ball, no matter how far away, he creates a 4-on-4 opportunity for teammates. Russell Westbrook scores a clutch layup with Harden in slot. He always gets by initial defender pic.twitter.com/8NapA9qEJL
— Alykhan Bijani (@Rockets_Insider) December 6, 2019
Westbrook’s 13 rebounds tied Clint Capela for most on the Rockets, who collectively outrebounded the larger Raptors by a 54-45 margin. Capela’s historic streak of consecutive games with 19+ rebounds ended at eight, but big contributions from Westbrook and Tucker more than offset that.
The Raptors were led by 24 points from Pascal Siakam, but Harden’s reliable post defense helped force the Toronto star into an inefficient 9-of-22 night shooting (40.9%) from the field.
There won’t be any national recognition of the defense Harden played on Siakam because that doesn’t quite fit the narrative.
— RedNinetyFour (@RedNinetyFour) December 6, 2019
The Rockets fly back to Houston overnight, where they have a two-game homestand coming up against the Phoenix Suns (9-11) on Saturday and the Sacramento Kings (8-12) on Monday.
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