James Harden, Dwight Howard Leading Modern-Day Rockets to Uncharted Territory

It was a development six years in the making, but the Houston Rockets blasted their way back into the second round of the playoffs after dismissing the visiting Dallas Mavericks with a 103-94 Game 5 win Tuesday night. 

Riding the sensational production of James Harden (28 points, eight assists) and Dwight Howard (18 points, 19 rebounds, four blocks and four steals), Houston punched its ticket to the Western Conference semifinals for the first time since 2009 and just the second time in the last 18 years. 

To properly appreciate the significance of that accomplishment, consider for a moment that the last Rockets team to qualify for the second round touted Brent Barry, Rafer Alston, Von Wafer, Shane Battier, Kyle Lowry, Tracy McGrady, Dikembe Mutombo, Yao Ming and the artist formerly known as Ron Artest. 

"They're legit," Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle told reporters after the loss, according to the Houston Chronicle's Jonathan Feigen. "They have a great chance at the whole thing."  

As a general rule of thumb, dispatching an opponent in five or fewer games bodes well for the Rockets' title chances, according to ESPN Stats & Info: 

Legit, indeed.

Twenty-one turnovers and 52.8 percent shooting from the free-throw line threatened to make Houston sweat out a return trip to Dallas for Game 6. However, Howard, Harden and supplementary scoring from Josh Smith (20 points) and Terrence Jones (15 points, including six straight in the fourth quarter) put a third straight first-round exit out of sight and out of mind. 

For Howard, the first round was more than a return to form. It was a return to dominance, and it sent a message that will reverberate throughout the Western Conference as Houston preps for a second-round meeting with either the Los Angeles Clippers or San Antonio Spurs. 

Over the course of five games, Howard averaged 16.6 points, 13.8 rebounds, 3.0 blocks and 1.6 steals while hammering home 58.2 percent of his shots.  

That put him in the same company as a few Hall of Famers, per ESPN Stats & Info: 

Then there was Harden, whose play indicated he's laser-focused on returning to the NBA Finals for the first time since sniffing the game's grandest stage with the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2012. 

Except this time, he's doing so while wielding daggers as his team's lead dog. Dallas learned that the hard way in the closing stages of Game 5, as Harden broke the Mavericks' spirit with a step-back three in the face of Al-Farouq Aminu to give Houston an eight-point lead with two minutes and 38 seconds remaining. 

When the Rockets inked Howard to a four-year, $88 million deal two summers ago, this was the kind of one-two punch they had in mind: A healthy Howard diving to the rim and blocking shots the way he did in his Orlando days while Harden shoulders the scoring load. 

That inside-outside balance—which Dallas sorely needed as it shot 19.2 percent from three and found itself outscored, 52-36, in the paint—is what the Mavericks had their eye on when they chased hard after Howard in 2013, according to ESPN.com's Tim MacMahon:

Howard may be inextricably linked to Dallas for years to come as a result, but all eyes are on Houston as it strives for a return to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 1997. 

And if there's a duo qualified to navigate uncharted waters, it's Harden and Howard. They're just now starting to hit their stride after Superman missed nearly two months (Jan. 25 to March 23) with a knee injury, and the results have been overwhelmingly positive since. 

"His knee has been good," Rockets head coach Kevin McHale said, according to the Houston Chronicle's Jenny Dial Creech. "He is bouncy again. He has been feeling good."

Now Howard gets to rest that knee while the Spurs and Clippers trade haymakers in a titanic throwdown. 

Regardless of which team the Rockets' next opponent is, Houston will be equipped to handle the matchup. If a shootout against the Clippers awaits, Houston can match their firepower. They proved that against the Mavericks, who entered the postseason with the league's fifth-ranked offense.  

Should the Rockets find themselves in a Texas two-step with the Spurs, defense will be key. And that's fine, because McHale's club ranked No. 6 overall in defensive efficiency during the regular season. 

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

With one round in the bag, it's clear this isn't a team that's easily pigeonholed. It adapts to different tactical environments and attacks opponents with a ferocity that toes the line between control and reckless abandon.  

"It feels good to move on out of the first round," Howard said, according to Feigen. "But we’re not finished."

As their superstars lead the charge with plenty of muscle to back them up, the Rockets may just have what it takes to eventually crack the championship code. 

All statistics are current as of April 29 and courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com unless noted otherwise.