Houston Rockets vs. Oklahoma City Thunder: Postgame Grades and Analysis
In his final 2014-15 regular-season contest against his former team, James Harden scored 41 points to lead his Houston Rockets past the Oklahoma City Thunder 115-112 in Oklahoma City Sunday afternoon.
Harden—the NBA's top scorer—went head-to-head with Russell Westbrook—who ranks a very close second in points per game—for the duration of the contest.
The Rockets rode an early run to a double-digit lead for most of the game; however, the Thunder remained within arm's reach the entire time and tied it up with minutes to go.
Despite 40 points and a triple-double from Westbrook, though, the Thunder were unable to complete a fourth-quarter push to beat Houston—as Westbrook's game-tying three-point attempt at the buzzer fell short.
The loss marks the Thunder's fourth in their last five games, which dropped their lead over the New Orleans Pelicans for the West's final playoff spot to just half a game.
Meanwhile, Houston, having completed its series sweep of Oklahoma City, moves a full game ahead of the Memphis Grizzlies in the standings as it looks to secure the conference's second seed.
| James Harden | A |
| Dwight Howard | A |
| Josh Smith | B |
| Trevor Ariza | B- |
| Rest of Team | C- |
| Russell Westbrook | A |
| Enes Kanter | B |
| Dion Waiters | C+ |
| Anthony Morrow | B+ |
| Rest of Team | D |
Houston Rockets
James Harden: A
James Harden enjoyed another dynamic scoring performance, notching 41 on 12-of-22 shooting before fouling out in the final minute of the fourth quarter.
He was firing on all cylinders, getting to the rim and foul line with ease. He overcame Houston's initial shooting bug to go 6-of-9 from deep, adding his fair share of mid-range and step-back buckets to secure the victory.
Looking the part of an MVP candidate, Harden also dished out six assists as he carried the Rockets offense to the eventual victory.
The Rockets struggled out of the gate, falling behind 10-3. However, Dwight Howard subsequently asserted himself inside as Houston's guards began looking into the post consistently. His surge helped ignite an 18-0 run, setting up Houston for a victory and Howard for a fantastic contest.
He dunked his way to 22 points on a 10-of-15 clip and also grabbed eight rebounds.
He played just 23 minutes due to his recent return from a knee injury, but he made the most of them.
Josh Smith: B
Houston's starting point guard may have been absent, but that didn't seem to hinder its ball movement, thanks in no small part to Josh Smith.
Smith emerged as a dynamic facilitator, picking apart the Thunders' interior defensive holes and helping to establish Howard as a dominant force.
Aside from his 7-of-17 shooting percentage, Smith's only major knock was his questionable defense on Westbrook along the perimeter in the game's final quarter. Still, his 14 points, four rebounds and four assists were crucial in the win.
Trevor Ariza: B-
Trevor Ariza struggled from his usual three-point sweet spot, going 1-of-6 from long range.
However, he attacked the rim consistently and got to the line frequently as a result. His 7-of-10 shooting from the charity stripe helped him score 12 points, which he supplemented with nine rebounds.
Used as little more than a role player, Ariza had a minimal impact, though better efficiency from deep would have benefited the Rockets greatly.
Rest of Team: C-
Corey Brewer, Pablo Prigioni and Joey Dorsey played big minutes off the bench but combined to score just 10 points.
Dorsey's seven rebounds were impressive, but his 3-of-8 mark from the free-throw line killed Houston.
Terrence Jones was invisible in the starting lineup, while Jason Terry—despite sporadic great plays—was held to nine points and two assists. His poor defense didn't help his cause, either.
Oklahoma City Thunder
Russell Westbrook: A
As a unit, the Thunder's offense looked broken.
Russell Westbrook, however, did not, finishing with yet another triple-double. The lone superstar standing in OKC amid a flurry of injuries, Westbrook predictably emerged as the be-all, end-all of the Thunder's limited scoring attack, scoring 40 points and contributing 13 assists and 11 rebounds.
Despite expected fatigue, he was in full gear, scoring in loads—thanks to his own explosiveness as well as laughable perimeter defense from Houston—and creating opportunities for his teammates.
Enes Kanter: B
Enes Kanter has been a force on offense for the Thunder since joining them at the trade deadline. He again scored like a machine on Sunday, managing 21 despite shooting 9-of-19 from the floor.
His defensive woes continued, though, as Howard led a dynamic interior attack that rendered Kanter and his teammates in the post nearly useless, though he did benefit from Howard's minutes restriction.
Kanter added 17 rebounds—including 10 on the offensive end. However, his inefficiency and poor defense kept him from making a complete, positive impact against Houston.
Dion Waiters: C+
Waiters was the Thunders' secondary go-to scorer, finishing with 14. The bulk of his contributions came at the beginning of the second quarter, when he single-handedly kept Oklahoma City within striking distance with Westbrook on the bench.
He trailed off from there, though, as OKC began to rely on Westbrook more and more as the game wore on.
Anthony Morrow: B+
He did next to nothing in the first half, but Anthony Morrow finished with the Thunder's second-highest scoring total, riding his three-point aptitude to a 22-point outing.
He went 6-of-8 from deep, playing off Westbrook as he made the team's lone bench impact.
Aside from his scoring, Morrow made no major contributions, but on a one-dimensional team plagued by injury, his Sunday afternoon performance was among the team's most notable.
Rest of Team: D
It wasn't until the final minute of the second quarter that a member of Oklahoma City's second unit scored a basket.
Morrow eventually went on to have a good game, but the rest of the Thunder bench was virtually non-existent.
Mitch McGary went scoreless and struggled on defense in the 10 minutes he played before fouling out. D.J. Augustin managed just three points.
In the starting lineup, Kyle Singler failed to emerge as a perimeter threat, going 2-of-5, while Steven Adams scored just six in the losing effort.
Up Next
Both teams' upcoming games feature plenty of black and silver. Oklahoma City hosts the surging San Antonio Spurs—who just recently clinched a postseason appearance—on Tuesday as it continues its quest for the West's eighth playoff seed.
The Rockets, meanwhile, draw the Spurs first on Wednesday in San Antonio and then again on Friday in Houston.
The Rockets last faced off against the Spurs in late December, losing by four despite 28 points from Harden. Since then, the Spurs have gotten even hotter.
Having won nine of its last 10 contests—including the previous six—San Antonio is a formidable foe for both Western Conference competitors.
