Harden, Rockets rout Spurs 125-104 to tie series

The word of the day on Sunday, when the Rockets routed the Spurs and thus tied the series 2-2 with Game 5 in San Antonio on Tuesday?

The 14-year veteran tore his left adductor during Sunday’s Game 4 win against the Spurs.

Nene is out for the remainder of the playoffs, as is Parker. Houston can force San Antonio in to uncomfortable stretches of games by continuing to run and push the ball.

Anderson also had 13 points, with Harden assisting on three of his five buckets; Anderson finished 3-of-7 from downtown in Game 4 after inexplicably missing his first 19 3-point attempts at home this postseason.

“He’s pretty much on the ideal team for the way they play and what their goals are offensively”. And since the Rockets also miss a lot of 3-pointers, Nene fits into the offense as a rebounder, where he trailed only Clint Capela in offensive boards per 100 possessions for Houston this year, to say nothing of his defensive attributes.

Spurs forwards Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge scored 16 points apiece, while Jonathan Simmons tallied 17 points and Patty Mills 10 points off the San Antonio bench.

It’s thought that the Rockets may shake their starting lineup up and play guard Eric Gordon instead of power forward Ryan Anderson.

“Drive, kick, drive, kick instead of just throwing up a quick floater, which is kind of what they want”. So we’ve got to keep that momentum up, and be aggressive.

The Rockets were up by five early in the third quarter before using an 8-2 run to make it 70-59 with about eight minutes left in the quarter.

‘Everyone knows I worked extremely hard to prove myself each and every night, and to have someone that was right there supporting me the whole way, ‘ he said. D’Antoni adjusted on Sunday by going even smaller, a strategy that the Spurs failed to take advantage of, even when Aldridge or Gasol was being guarded by Harden on the low block. “We’ll start him again, we’ll win or we’ll lose, and then we’ll go to dinner”.

As for the Rockets, James Harden lit up the stats sheet, scoring 43. After watching the film, Houston coach Mike D’Antoni noticed in the first three games that the Spurs couldn’t handle them in transition. While it was very back and forth for much of the first half, San Antonio looked dominant later in the second half behind Aldridge, Leonard and the team’s typically assertive defense.

‘I talked to my family members, my first cousin, all my family back home in Chicago, and everybody wanted me to play tonight, ‘ Beverley said.

Nene joined the Rockets last year after a four-year stint with the Washington Wizards which followed a decade with the Denver Nuggets. I just need to focus on being more physical. Harden could have easily driven past the big man and challenged at the rim, but that would be playing into San Antonio’s hand. It isn’t a coincidence that in the two games the Rockets have won in this series the pace has been played at their liking.