James Harden Explodes for 41 as Rockets Beat Donovan Mitchell, Jazz in Game 1
It was just one game, but the Houston Rockets sent a message Sunday in the first round of their second-round playoff series against the Utah Jazz.
James Harden, Chris Paul and the rest of the Western Conference's top seed handled Donovan Mitchell and the Jazz in a 110-96 victory in Game 1 at Toyota Center. The contest was never in doubt, as Harden and Paul seized control from the early going and stuffed the stat sheet in a dominant display.
Harden finished with 41 points, seven assists and eight boards on 7-of-12 from deep, while Paul added 17 points, six assists, four rebounds and four steals at 3-of-6 from three-point range.
To be fair to Utah, the Rockets were the far fresher team after finishing the Minnesota Timberwolves in five games with the last one coming Wednesday. Utah was less than two days removed from a physically grueling six-game battle with Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder, and the lingering effects showed.
Houston never looked back after building a 13-point lead by the end of the first quarter on the way to an overwhelming 25-point halftime advantage.
Harden put Utah's defenders in a blender from the opening moments with his lethal step-back shots on the perimeter. He also worked in pick-and-rolls with the intention of isolating him on bigs before attacking a lane that no was longer protected by Rudy Gobert or Derrick Favors after defensive switches.
The backcourt is a two-headed monster, and Paul staggered minutes and attacking possessions with his MVP candidate teammate.
No. 3 patiently probed the Utah defense, waiting to exploit openings either off the bounce or with soft touch on his jumpers. When additional help came their way, he and Harden hit Trevor Ariza (eight points) and PJ Tucker (15 points) in their shooting pockets or found Clint Capela (16 points and 12 rebounds) flashing to space in front of the rim.
Despite the onslaught, Utah made a late run and trimmed the deficit to 11 in the fourth quarter before Harden put things on lock.
He scored eight straight points for Houston by lulling the perimeter defenders to sleep with his dribbles at the top of the key before either draining the deep ball over the top or using a quick jab to get into the lane.
His individual scoring streak ended when he found Capela with a lob, encapsulating the pick-your-poison nature of defending him.
While the offense draws the headlines in Houston, the defense also helped set the tone by swarming Utah's outside shooters and holding everyone but Jae Crowder (21 points and 5-of-7 from three-point range) to a mere 2-of-15 from deep and forcing 18 turnovers.
The turnovers underscored the difficulty Utah faces in this series attempting to overcome Ricky Rubio's hamstring injury. Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported it could sideline the point guard for more than a week, which takes away a primary facilitator who can protect the ball and get others involved.
The injury left Mitchell in more of a ball-handling role, and he responded with 21 points, but it was far from enough to keep up with the Rockets' firepower.
The silver lining for the Jazz is they will now have a couple of days to rest their legs before attempting to earn a split in Houston with Game 2 on Wednesday.
