Going into Game 6, Houston head coach Mike D’Antoni had stressed the importance of turnovers as a key indicator for his Rockets. In their three wins of the first-round series versus Oklahoma City, the Rockets averaged 8.3 turnovers; in two prior losses, that total ballooned to 14.5.
In Monday’s Game 6, that turnover figure exploded to a playoff-high 22, leading to a 104-100 Thunder victory (box score). A decisive, winner-take-all Game 7 is set for Wednesday night.
“We’re gonna respond,” D’Antoni said postgame. “We’ll clean up some things. We can’t play much worse. We’ll play better.”
Houston led by six with under four minutes remaining in regulation, but the Thunder closed the game on a 12-2 run. Eight of those points came by former Rocket Chris Paul, who scored a team-high 28 points — including a pair of free throws to break the tie with 13.1 seconds left.
We go to Game 7. I can not stress how bad Russell Westbrook was in the second half. Chris Paul playing out of his mind only made it that much more painful to watch.
— ClutchFans (@clutchfans) September 1, 2020
With Houston trailing by two, Russell Westbrook then threw the ball out of bounds for his team-high seventh turnover of the game. Earlier in the final minute, Westbrook airballed a mid-range shot that would have given the Rockets the lead.
James Harden led Houston in the loss with 32 points (50% shooting) and seven assists. But excluding a heave at the buzzer — when the Rockets trailed by four and the game was already over — the MVP finalist only shot once over the final four minutes, when the game was decided.
This game was almost a parody of worst-case-scenario theater:
1. Harden awesome for 3 quarters then on milk cartons
2. Bad Russ. Confident Russ. Bad combo.
3. CP3 crunch time god.
— RussNinetyFour (@RedNinetyFour) September 1, 2020
It’s the latest in a troubling trend for the Rockets, whose three wins have come by an average of more than 20 points per game. In the three games (Game 3, Game 4, and Game 6) that have been there for the taking in the closing minutes, Houston has lost all of them.
“When it comes down to the last five minutes, they’re the best team in the league at it,” D’Antoni said of the Thunder.
“CP [Paul] does not miss foul shots, and he hits big shots,” he added. “We’ve got to do a better job before we get in the last five minutes. … Even with that, we still had our chances. We didn’t finish it off.”
Russell Westbrook on why the Rockets had issues with turnovers tonight, which hasn’t been a problem for them during this series: “That was my fault, honestly. Last game I had zero, tonight I had seven.”
— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) September 1, 2020
Houston’s All-Star backcourt of Westbrook and Harden combined for 12 of the 22 turnovers, with “The Beard” registering the other five.
With their season officially on the line, the Rockets will play a do-or-die Game 7 on Wednesday night at the NBA “bubble.” Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m. Central, with a national TV broadcast on ABC.
