The Rockets, who are third in the Western Conference, face off against the Thunder, who are sixth in the Western Conference. There is not much suspense in this series, and the Rockets will win relatively easily.
In fact, the Rockets and Thunder have no grudges, and the fans of the two teams even have a good relationship.
The only dispute or grudge between the two teams is the selection of this season's MVP.
Westbrook won the trophy, Harden was not convinced, and Harden's fans were not convinced either. The playoffs happened to be a direct collision between the two teams, so who is stronger is also a point to watch.
On April 16, 2017, the Rockets faced the challenge of the Oklahoma City Thunder at home.
Thunder starting lineup: Andre Robson, Taj Gibson, Steven Adams, Oladipo, Westbrook.
Rockets starting lineup: Ariza, Ryan Anderson, Capela, Beverley, Harden.
In the first quarter, the two teams fought hard, with the score 29:27, and the Thunder led by two points.
In the second quarter, the Rockets found their touch. They scored 32:25 in a single quarter and overtook the score.
In the third quarter, the Rockets pursued the victory. They scored 30:20 and led by 15 points.
In the fourth quarter, the Thunder only played two or three minutes in the starting lineup and failed to score. The Rockets had a small climax and the score difference immediately widened to more than 20 points, and the game became garbage time.
In the end, the Rockets defeated the Thunder 118:87 at home and won their first victory in the series.
Westbrook played 34 minutes in this game, took 23 shots, hit 6 goals, scored 22 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists, and 9 turnovers, which was very inefficient.
Harden also played 34 minutes. He made 13 of 28 shots, 8 of 11 free throws, and scored 37 points, 9 assists, 7 rebounds, and two turnovers. His efficiency was much higher than Westbrook.
Five Rockets players scored in double figures. Harden's best assistant was Beverley, who scored 21 points.
The Thunder's three players increased their scoring. Robertson made 4 of 6 three-pointers and scored 18 points.
…
On April 19, the Houston Rockets hosted Game 2 of the series against the Oklahoma City Thunder at home.
After the whole game, the Rockets defeated the Thunder again 115-111, leading the series with a total score of 2-0.
The Rockets had been lagging behind in this campaign, but with the help of role players in the fourth quarter, the Rockets successfully reversed course.
Harden played 37 minutes and scored 35 points, 8 assists and 4 rebounds, becoming the number one contributor to the Rockets' comeback victory.
For the Rockets, in addition to Harden, Beverley had 15 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists, Capela had 7 points, 10 rebounds and 4 blocks, Gordon had 22 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists, Lou Williams had 21 points, and Nene had 7 points.
5 rebounds and 2 assists.
For the Thunder, Westbrook scored 51 points, 10 rebounds, 13 assists, 4 steals and 1 block, Oladipo had 11 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists, Robson had 12 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals and 3 blocks, Gibson had 8 points, 5 rebounds, and Grant had 9 points.
5 rebounds, McDermott 11 points.
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On April 21, the Houston Rockets competed with the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 3 of the first round away from home.
The Thunder returned to their home court with great momentum and took the lead at the beginning. After three quarters, the Thunder led 93-83 by ten points.
In the final quarter, the competition between the two sides became intense. Under tight surveillance, Harden and Westbrook's personal offense became increasingly difficult.
The game entered the last 5 minutes. Harden hit a three-pointer. Gordon and Anderson also hit sneak attacks under the basket. The Rockets closed the point difference to 3 points. After that, relying on Grant and Westbrook to score points, the Thunder continued to maintain the advantage. But Ha
Deng scored 8 points in a row in 1 minute and successfully evened the point difference.
In the last 35 seconds, Adams made a tip-in and the Thunder led 113-111. Afterwards, Harden missed a three-pointer on a strong attack. Beverley was forced to foul Westbrook, received his sixth foul, and was ejected.
Westbrook made one of two free throws. The Rockets were 3 points behind and still had a chance. However, Harden failed to score two consecutive three-pointers.
In the end, after the whole game, the Thunder narrowly defeated the Rockets 115-113, bringing the total score to 1-2.
In this campaign, Westbrook played 38 minutes and 32 seconds, scoring 32 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists, scoring a triple-double in two consecutive games. It was also thanks to his desperate performance that the Thunder struggled to win back a victory at home.
For the Thunder, in addition to Westbrook, Gibson scored 20 points and 2 rebounds, Robertson had 12 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 blocks and 2 steals, Oladipo had 12 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals, Kanter had 10 points, 2 rebounds and 1 block, Mike
Dermott had 6 points and 1 block, and Abrines had 8 points and 3 rebounds.
For the Rockets, Harden scored the second-highest 44 points in a single game in his playoff career, as well as 6 rebounds and 6 assists. Ryan Anderson had 18 points and 6 rebounds, Ariza had 7 points and 8 rebounds, and Capela had 5 points and 2 assists.
With 3 rebounds and 3 blocks, Gordon had 12 points and 3 rebounds, and Lou Williams had 22 points and 4 rebounds.
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On April 23, the fourth game between the Rockets and Thunder began.
The Thunder still led in the first three quarters, but in the fourth quarter, relying on the tactics of cutting Robertson, the Rockets went ahead and overtook the score. In the end, they defeated the Thunder 113-109 in the away game. The total score became 3-1, and the Rockets took the lead in getting the match point.
For the Rockets, Nene scored 28 points and 10 rebounds (tying 12 of 12 shots from the field in the playoffs), Gordon scored 4 three-pointers, 18 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocks, Lou Williams scored 18 points and 7 rebounds, and Harden made only 16 shots.
16 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists on 5 shots (0 of 7 three-pointers). Ariza had 14 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals.
For the Thunder, Westbrook had 35 points, 14 rebounds, 14 assists and 3 steals (three consecutive triple-doubles), Adams had 18 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks, Oladipo had 15 points, 4 rebounds and 2 blocks, Robertson had 13 points, 5 blocks and 4 rebounds.
Grant had 10 points and 3 rebounds.
…
On April 25, the Houston Rockets faced the Oklahoma City Thunder at home, kicking off Game 5.
After the first quarter, the Thunder temporarily led 22-16.
In the second quarter, relying on the performance of the substitute lineup, the Rockets gradually closed the score. Anderson and Lu Wei successively broke through and completed layups, and the scores were tied. Then the Rockets became more and more courageous, Beverley hit the net with a three-pointer, and the Rockets were at halftime
Before the end, an offensive climax was set off and the score was successfully overtaken. Harden fouled and made two free throws. At the end of the half, the Rockets led 51-44.
After changing sides, Harden hit a jumper and Capela hit a free throw. The Rockets had widened the point difference to 10 points. But then Houston once again showed habitual laxity. In the latter part of the third quarter, Westbrook had a big explosion.
He made four consecutive three-pointers in more than three minutes, and also made tip-ins and jump shots. After scoring 16 points alone, the Thunder regained the advantage.
After three quarters, the Rockets were once again behind 72-77.
However, in terms of overall strength, there is a gap between the Thunder and the Rockets after all. In the last quarter, when substitute scoring points such as Lu Wei and Gordon used their strength at the same time, the Rockets quickly achieved a lead. In the middle of this quarter, Westbrook and Beverley were in a fight.
The two got angry, and the two faced each other and exchanged trash talk, refusing to give in. But in the next 3 minutes, relying on layups and foul shots, Harden scored 9 points in a row, and the Rockets widened the point difference and basically sealed the victory.
.
At the end of the game, the Rockets defeated the Thunder 105-99 and advanced to the Western Conference semifinals with a total score of 4-1.
In this campaign, Harden played 38 minutes, made 8 of 25 shots, and scored 34 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists. Although his efficiency was not high, he scored 13 points in a row in the final quarter and became the hero that sealed the victory for the Rockets.
For the Rockets, in addition to Harden, Beverley scored 15 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists, Nene had 14 points and 7 rebounds, Lou Williams had 22 points and 5 rebounds, and Gordon had 8 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists.
For the Thunder, Westbrook tried his best and scored 47 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists. Gibson had 10 points and 8 rebounds. Adams had 7 points, 9 rebounds, 2 steals and 4 blocks. Grant had 11 points and 5 rebounds. Abrines had 11 points.
Oladipo 10 points.
In general, there is still a big gap between the Thunder and Rockets in terms of strength. First of all, Westbrook's personal strength is much worse than Harden: Westbrook relies on his body to play and has poor shooting, while Harden relies on his brain to play and has poor shooting.
Much better than Westbrook, and has better organizational skills.
Secondly, the Rockets' role players are more balanced, with a balanced offense and defense, and no obvious shortcomings. The Thunder can defend but not attack, and can attack but cannot defend. The coach has even more headaches in arranging the formation.
In short, the Thunder and Rockets were quite different in strength, so they ultimately lost the series.
Because Gentleman swept the Thunder, Rockets fans were even more aggrieved for Harden: Look, they are all led by a single core, Harden is better than Westbrook!
Why was the MVP trophy given to Westbrook? It’s so unfair!
Rockets fans have forgotten one thing. The MVP trophy is a regular season award. It depends on who performs better in the regular season. This award has nothing to do with the playoffs!
Again, in terms of regular season performance, Westbrook's personal data is more shocking and more impactful, and his story is more likable and attracts more attention, so there is no problem in giving the MVP trophy to Westbrook.
