Midway through the third quarter of Saturday’s Game 5, the Houston Rockets lost veteran defensive ace P.J. Tucker due to an ejection following a scuffle between Tucker and Oklahoma City’s Dennis Schroder.
Even considering Tucker’s usual value, it didn’t compromise the Rockets on that end of the court. (The loss of Schroder, who led the Thunder in scoring in their Game 3 and Game 4 wins, may also have helped.)
In Houston’s 114-80 victory (box score), which was the biggest by playoff margin in franchise history, the Rockets outscored the Thunder by an overwhelming 66-35 margin in the second half. For the game, Oklahoma City shot just 31.5% from the field and 7-of-46 from 3-point range (15.2%), and they turned the ball over a series-high 18 times.
One difference maker on both ends of the court was Robert Covington. The veteran forward, who starts alongside Tucker in Houston’s frontcourt, scored 22 points on 6-of-11 shooting on 3-pointers (54.5%), and he also had seven rebounds and a team-high three steals. The Rockets were a +36 in his 31 minutes, which was the best of any player in Game 5.
“Covington has a big second half,” head coach Mike D’Antoni said.
Covington has now shot 50% or better from 3-point range in each of the last three games of the first-round playoff series. “I just stayed in my rhythm and everything, being found in the right spots,” Covington said postgame. “The confidence has always been there, you’ve just got to see a couple go in. When I did that, the basket just opened up even more and as the game continued to go on, every shot that I shot felt really good.”
Regarding Houston’s defense, which dominated in the second half after allowing 31 points in the second quarter, Covington said:
The main thing we wanted to talk about was getting back to showing that wall. We know their team likes to drive so in order for us to really be effective we have to help out our guys, not leaving them on an island. We did a good job of talking and cutting off drives. They were getting to their spots in the first half, but in the second half ,we really locked in. We really didn’t want to play around and once we got the lead, everything flowed after that.
The Rockets limited Thunder forward Danilo Gallinari, who was the team’s leading scorer in the 2019-20 regular season, to a season-low 1 point (on a technical free throw) on 0-of-5 shooting in 22 minutes.
Gallinari stat line
1 point
6 rebounds
0 assists
4 turnovers
-27
0-5 (0% fg)
0-3 (0% 3p)
😤😤😤— Nathan Fogg (@NathanFogg1) August 30, 2020
Covington and the Rockets have an opportunity in Monday’s Game 6 to clinch the series and advance to the second round. Historically, in NBA playoff series to be tied after four games, the winner of Game 5 has ultimately won the best-of-seven series more than 80% of the time.
