We’ve seen this movie before. The Houston Rockets falter in the first half, get in a big hole, then make a furious comeback in the second half. They do it just about every other game, it seems like. Often, the story ends with an unhappy ending for the Rockets, as it did against the Indiana Pacers. Tonight, however, they tried the same thing and got a better result. The Rockets rallied back from a 20-point deficit to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers. Oh, and by the way? LeBron James didn’t play. Maybe it’s not really that impressive. Either way, the Rockets get a much-needed tick in the wins tally.
Who was the hero against the Cavaliers? It was, as always, James Harden. After a grim first half in which he attempted only 6 shots, he poured it on in the second half. At one point he got tripped up on a shoe which fell off Iman Shumpert’s foot, and was called for a travel. Whether that call was the tipping point or not, he went berserk in the second half, playing 44 minutes so that the team could eke out another win against a lesser opponent. He scored 27 points on 8-16 shooting, and ended with 6 rebounds, 8 assists, a steal and 4 turnovers. Harden might be a part of the Rockets’ problems, but it’s also clear he’s part of the solution, whenever they find one. He played some excellent individual defense at times, and it’s clear that when he’s locked in he’s a force to be reckoned with. Don’t let anyone tell you different.
Michael Beasley remains the unexpected hero. He played 27 badly-needed minutes and scored 17 points on 8-15 shooting. This is pretty okay. 8 rebounds 2 assists and a block round out a nice night for B-easy, a man who is helping to make smallball viable in Houston. He can play a nice, active power forward role, and he fits very well with what’s left of that bench crew, including K.J. McDaniels, who will be a very nice player if he can develop a halfway decent shot.
Dwight Howard was a confusing specimen. He ended up with 11 points on 2-3 shooting because of how often he was fouled. He shot 7-22, and not all of those were hack-a fouls. Much of the time, the Cavaliers simply knew to foul him hard whenever he gets near the rim. Dwight Howard has been a difficult proposition lately, since the team has fared better with Clint Capela on the court instead. This will continue to be a hard question for the team unless Howard really turns it on in the playoffs, should they make it.
The overall thrust of the game was one in which the Rockets were the better team for three quarters. If you removed that abysmal second quarter, Houston dominated that game. You can’t, however, remove just part of a game. That’s Houston’s problem in a nutshell. They’re capable of playing extremely well, but can’t do it for a whole game. A collapse so bad that you let a team get on a 22 point swing in a mere 12 minutes is intolerable, and continues to be worrisome. If they can somehow exorcise these demons and give consistent effort and play in the playoffs, nobody can predict what happens. If they keep giving up quarters where they hit 5 field goals and give up 7 turnovers, it’s easy to predict their playoff fate. This won’t work in the playoffs. The Rockets should feel lucky it worked tonight.
