Mavericks vs. Rockets: Game 5 Score and Twitter Reaction from 2015 NBA Playoffs
The Dallas Mavericks finally found the formula to force the Houston Rockets into a competitive series. It just happened too late.
James Harden scored 28 points and Dwight Howard had a double-double as the Rockets earned a 103-94 victory over Dallas on Tuesday to take their best-of-seven series in five games. It marks the Rockets' first postseason series win since 2009. Houston will move on to play either the San Antonio Spurs or Los Angeles Clippers, which are currently tied, 2-2, in their series.
As they did for much of the series, the Rockets relied heavily on their foundation of stars while banking on a couple of role players to step up. Harden, who shot 9-of-19 from the field, scored at least 24 points in each of the series' five games and averaged 28.4 overall. The pseudo-point guard also added eight assists, giving him nine straight contests with at least five dimes dating back to the regular season.
Howard, who has been looking closer to 100 percent of late, was yet again a bully inside. He scored his 18 points on 7-of-14 shooting, throwing down ferocious putbacks and flashing spin moves almost reminiscent of his Orlando days. He also added 19 rebounds, four blocked shots and four steals, acting as the defensive fulcrum Houston missed during the regular season.
“His knee has been good,” Rockets coach Kevin McHale said of the injury that cost Howard half of the season, per Jenny Dial Creech of the Houston Chronicle. “He is bouncy again. He has been feeling good.”
Help in Game 5 came in the form of the once-maligned Josh Smith, who continues to write a strong redemption story. Smith scored 20 points and had eight rebounds, his fourth straight solid outing overall. For the series, Smith, one of the worst high-volume three-point shooters in NBA history, knocked down 39.1 percent of his shots from distance and provided versatility on both ends.
"I don't need to be, but it does give people the opportunity to be reminded how versatile I can be," Smith told Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. "People tend to always point out the negatives in situations. Everybody has flaws. People try to magnify them [with me] more than other players. And I don't know why. But I stay positive. And I keep positive energy around me."
"The joy on Josh Smith's face
— Bethlehem Shoals (@freedarko) April 29, 2015"
Smith and Howard led the charge on perhaps Houston's finest defensive effort of the series.
The Rockets held the Mavericks to 38.0 percent shooting overall, including a 5-of-26 mark from beyond the arc. Dirk Nowitzki finished with a double-double (22 points, 14 rebounds) but needed 23 shots to get there. Nowitzki was especially out of sorts in the first half, shooting 2-of-11 and seeing Dallas outscored by six points when he was on the floor.
Monta Ellis scored 25 points but also suffered from low efficiency (11-of-26 shooting) and turned the ball over six times. Ellis was nonetheless a lesser of evils throughout the night, as J.J. Barea and Devin Harris each struggled from the field.
Given their shooting troubles, it's a testament to head coach Rick Carlisle and his players that they kept the game close at all. Exposed as weak defensively throughout the regular season and most of this series, Dallas held Houston to a mediocre 45.1 percent rate from the floor. Carlisle even broke out this season's favorite gimmick (the "Hack a Bad Free-Throw Shooter X"), an astute move on a night when the Rockets made 19 of their 36 attempts.
“We knew they were not going to go out without a fight," Harden told reporters before the game, per the Houston Chronicle's Jonathan Feigen. "It’s tough to close out a (team), especially a really good team like Dallas who can score the ball extremely well."
In the end, all the ingenuity in the world wasn't going to be enough for this undermanned Dallas team to force a Game 6. Losing Chandler Parsons left the team without its most reliable floor-spacer. Losing Rajon Rondo left it without its two-way X-factor—along with the role players (Brandan Wright, Jameer Nelson and Jae Crowder) traded for the enigmatic guard, all of whom the Mavericks could have used at one point or another.
It speaks to owner Mark Cuban's organizational philosophy that he's willing to swing for the likes of Parsons and Rondo. Their absences, whether due to injury or personality differences, show what can happen when one of those major deals doesn't work out.
On the other side, Rockets general manager Daryl Morey is likely feeling good about his big-time acquisitions. Harden has emerged as an MVP candidate and two-way player, the perfect fit for Morey's high-efficiency brand of basketball. Howard's re-emerged from an injury-riddled regular season to look as good as he ever has in a Rockets uniform. And Smith, who wore out his welcome in Atlanta and Detroit amid a pile of bricked jumpers, now looks like a potential swing player on a championship contender.
That's the thing about risks. Some work; others backfire. The Rockets are advancing, and the Mavericks are going home for that express reason.
Follow Tyler Conway (@tylerconway22) on Twitter.
