Houston Rockets vs. Los Angeles Clippers: Game 6 Grades and Analysis
The Houston Rockets used a remarkable in-game swing to even their Western Conference Semifinal series against the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday, winning Game 6 119-107 at the Staples Center.
The Rockets trailed by as much as 19 in the third quarter and were outscored in that frame 28-17. Houston, with James Harden on the bench, went on to outscore the Clippers 40-15 in the fourth.
An inspired effort from Josh Smith, Corey Brewer and Dwight Howard, on both ends of the floor, stonewalled the Clippers.
Every shot that appeared open for the Clippers in the fourth quickly became contested as the Rockets were flying all over the floor.
| James Harden | B- |
| Dwight Howard | A+ |
| Trevor Ariza | B |
| Jason Terry | B+ |
| Josh Smith | A+ |
| Rest of Team | A+ |
| Chris Paul | B+ |
| Blake Griffin | B+ |
| DeAndre Jordan | C+ |
| J.J. Redick | B- |
| Matt Barnes | C- |
| Rest of Team | F |
Houston Rockets
James Harden: B-
With the exception of the second quarter, when he was able to find a little bit of rhythm by getting to the foul line, Harden seriously struggled.
His jump shot was off all night, as he finished 5-of-20 from the field. His ability to get to the line still allowed him to get more points than attempts, though. He was 11-of-11 from the stripe on the way to 23 points.
On the other end, he reverted back to a lot of the bad habits he displayed on defense in years past. He allowed several cutters to go by in front of him and often looked disinterested in on-ball situations.
"Harden’s defensive regression in the postseason has been disappointing, stunningly abrupt, and very evident.
— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) May 15, 2015"
For those reasons, Harden found himself on an extended break to start the fourth quarter. As it became evident that Howard, Brewer and Smith were going to pull off the miracle, coach Kevin McHale decided to leave Harden on the bench. Credit to Harden for humbly accepting the decision.
Dwight Howard: A+
Howard was a dominant force on the boards, grabbing 21 rebounds and doing a lot of the dirty work that kept DeAndre Jordan in single digits in that category.
He was also a monster on offense, finishing inside regardless of who was covering him. He dropped 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting.
Finally, his anchoring of Houston's defense in the fourth quarter was critical. On one play, Blake Griffin caught the ball with a wide-open driving lane in front of him. He took one look at Dwight Howard inside and opted to kick it out to Chris Paul.
Trevor Ariza: B
Trevor Ariza's been one of the most consistent Rockets throughout the series, but he struggled a bit with his shot on Thursday. He went 4-of-12 from the field and scored 13 points.
He still played with his typical level of defensive intensity, though. He also managed to collect five rebounds and two steals.
Jason Terry: B+
After spending the first three quarters in relative anonymity, Jason Terry broke out in the fourth quarter during the insane 31-point swing.
He hit a couple of big jumpers and was part of the gang effort on defense. He hounded Paul on a couple pick-and-rolls, breaking up the play before it could even get started.
Terry finished with seven points, seven rebounds and five assists.
Josh Smith: A+
It would be nearly impossible to overstate the impact of Josh Smith on the fourth quarter. He hit back-to-back threes that cut the lead to five, shut down Blake Griffin in multiple isolations and generally wreaked havoc all over the floor.
In just 26 minutes, he scored 19 points on 5-of-9 shooting and grabbed six rebounds. Perhaps most devastating for the Clippers, he was 4-of-7 from downtown.
Rest of Team: A+
A pair of Rockets reserves—Brewer and Terrence Jones—had a massive impact off the bench.
Brewer was a huge part of the fourth-quarter run. The upgrade to his defense from Harden's clearly impacted everything the Clippers were trying to do, and his ability to get from one end to the other in a snap following stops got the Rockets some wide-open layups.
Brewer finished with 19 points on 6-of-14 shooting and had 10 rebounds. He was a team-best plus-32 in just 25 minutes.
Jones was also solid offensively, scoring 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting and finishing a number of tough looks inside.
Los Angeles Clippers
Chris Paul: B+
Paul brilliantly engineered the Clippers offense, pushing the ball at a breakneck pace when transition opportunities were available and methodically dissecting the Rockets in the half court when they weren't.
He never really looked for his own offense, but was more than willing to take shots that opened up to him. On a few occasions, the Rockets casually went under the screen on pick-and-rolls and Paul made them pay.
On the other end, he played his typically intense brand of on-ball defense, hounding Jason Terry and Pablo Prigioni into several contested looks.
He would finish the game with a ridiculous stat line of 31 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds.
But all that praise and most of the production came from the first three quarters.
In the fourth, Paul appeared to be gassed and simply couldn't break down or get around the insanely fast closeouts of the Rockets.
And as his game stalled, so did that of each and every Clipper on the floor.
Blake Griffin: B+
Put simply, Griffin was just spectacular on the way to 28 points and eight rebounds.
In transition, isolations, pick-and-rolls or post-ups, Griffin was able to score, often in ridiculous fashion. The entire repertoire was on display.
He played with a ton of energy on defense as well, coming up with two steals and a chasedown block that canceled out a turnover he had committed just before the play.
But like his point guard, Griffin appeared to run out of juice in the fourth. He continued trying to score on Howard and Smith inside, but no longer had the lift to score over either.
DeAndre Jordan: C+
With the Hack-a-Shaq strategy shelved for most of the game, DeAndre Jordan wasn't quite central to the plot in this one.
He was still important for L.A.'s defense, though, often clogging up the lane and cleaning up the glass—he finished with nine rebounds and four blocks.
However, that fourth quarter reared its ugly head for Jordan too. Seeing a theme developing here?
As the Rockets began running like a herd of gazelles, Jordan's impact was minimized, particularly because Howard beat him up and down the floor possession after possession.
J.J. Redick: B-
J.J. Redick couldn't find his shot throughout the game, but still managed to score 15 points on 13 attempts, thanks to three three-pointers and four free throws.
On the other end, Redick was quite good. For most of the series, he's been the one Clipper who could force Harden into really tough shots. That remained the case on Thursday.
Matt Barnes: C-
The one Clipper who really struggled the entire game (not just the fourth quarter) was Matt Barnes, who scored just nine points on 4-of-12 shooting.
He did do a solid job on the boards, though, grabbing a team-high 10 rebounds.
Rest of Team: F
If you're wondering why all the Clippers looked so tired in the fourth quarter, it may be because the only two reserves who played more than 10 minutes were Jamal Crawford and Austin Rivers.
Both were terrible.
Crawford went 4-of-13 on the way to nine points in 24 minutes. Rivers was 2-of-8 for five points in 14 minutes.
Coming Up Next
The Clippers now have to go on the road for another Game 7, Sunday, May 17.
Coach Doc Rivers may have no other choice than to trust a couple more reserves, if for no other reason than preserving his starters for the fourth quarter.
Houston, meanwhile, needs to carry the momentum of Thursday's fourth quarter into Game 7. A continuation of the defensive intensity they showed could knock the Clippers out of rhythm early.
Andy Bailey covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him @AndrewDBailey.
