James Harden knew Saturday night’s Game 3 was a must-win, and he dropped 41 points to help push the Houston Rockets past the Golden State Warriors.
Momentum is now back in Houston’s court, and they’ll look to even the series Monday night, at home. It’s 2-1 in the Western Conference Semifinals, thanks to a gritty game from every player on the Rockets showing up.
Eric Gordon finally had a breakout game, dropping 30 points — including seven-of-14 from beyond the arc — in the 126-121 win in overtime. It was Gordon’s best performance in the playoffs in his career.
“It’s all about bringing something to the table, offensively, defensively every single night to give yourself a chance to win,” he said.
Clint Capela also finally showed up, producing a solid double-double, and Iman Shumpert was a spark off the bench with 10 points in 18 minutes.
The Warriors’ weaknesses were exposed in Game 3: bench play and depth.
All Golden State starters were in double-figures, but the non-starters — 10 of them — could only muster seven points and six rebounds all game.
The Rockets’ second-unit of just nine players was far better, with 21 points and 13 rebounds.
Golden State gave the lineup of Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant, Shaun Livingston, Jonas Jerebko and Andrew Bogut a 26-25 lead to start the second quarter. The united posted a combined minus-12 in the first four minutes of the second quarter, and by the time head coach Steve Kerr was forced to put his starters back in, the Warriors were trailing 38-27.
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