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LAKE BUENA VISTA, Florida: Chris Paul and the Thunder had their backs to the bubble wall, a more difficult place than usual when faced with elimination.
This time it meant a lot to pack, to prepare for a possible return home after a long time away. They were not interested in the end of their journey or their season.
“We are not ready to go yet,” Paul said.
He made sure they didn’t.
Paul gave the Thunder at least one more game at Disney, scoring 15 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter for a 104-100 win over the Houston Rockets on Monday (Tuesday in Manila) in Game 6 of a first-round series. of the Western Conference. .
Paul made two free throws with 13.1 seconds to go and the game tied at 100, and Danilo Gallinari added two more after a turnover by Russell Westbrook to finish it off.
Game 7 will be Wednesday night, and the winner will advance to face the top-ranked Los Angeles Lakers. James Harden said the Rockets’ mindset will not change.
“To go win,” he said. “It’s simple.”
It gives the West two Game 7s, with Denver and Utah set to play theirs on Tuesday.
In a game that was close throughout, neither team led by double digits, the Thunder rebounded from a blowout in Game 5. And no one handles close games better than Paul, who led the NBA with 150 points in situations. decisive, defined as the last five minutes of a game in which the point difference is five points or less.
“We expect him to make those shots, especially late in the game,” Gallinari said.
Gallinari added 25 points.
Harden had 32 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Rockets, while Robert Covington had 18 and Westbrook 17 in his second game back from a right quadriceps strain.
But they combined for 12 of the Rockets’ 22 turnovers, saying Houston has lost more close games than Oklahoma City won them.
“To be completely honest, it’s been up to us,” Westbrook said.
Houston earned its most dominant playoff victory in Game 5, winning 114-80 after holding Oklahoma City to 31.5% shooting. But the Thunder brushed off that, as they did with a 2-0 series deficit.
Westbrook scored five straight points to open the third and the Rockets would gain an advantage of up to nine in the period. But Gallinari kept it from getting worse and then Lu Dort, a terrible 3 of 16 overall and 0 of 9 from 3-point range in Game 5, made a layup and two 3-pointers for an 8-0 run that ended the fourth and sent Oklahoma City into the fourth with a 77-75 lead.
Oklahoma City extended it to eight, but Houston erased it with an 18-4 run that provided a 98-92 lead. Paul responded with consecutive triples to reknot it, and then undid it for good.
Most of the first half was played within a few points either way. The Thunder continued to miss, hitting just 41.7% overall and going just 3 of 15 on 3s.
But they defended well and the Rockets didn’t reach 30 points until more than 4½ minutes of the second quarter. Harden scored six straight points late in the half and Eric Gordon hit a 3-pointer at the bell for a 51-48 lead.
TIP-INS
Rockets: Covington is averaging 18 in the last three games after hitting 18 in the first three. … Gordon had just nine points on 3 of 12 shots.
Thunder: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished sixth in the voting for the Most Improved Player award, won Monday by Brandon Ingram of New Orleans.
REMEMBERING A RIVAL
There was a moment of silence before the game for John Thompson, the Georgetown Hall of Fame coach who died at 78. Oklahoma City coach Billy Donovan played Thompson’s teams when he was at Providence in the 1980s, and lost a NIT game in his last game. postseason team in 1998 after he began training in Florida.
“I certainly think the Big East back then was really defined by the coaches and those guys as great figureheads, and certainly that was Coach Thompson,” Donovan said. “I think the things you look at, the things he was a part of, the things he did outside of basketball were amazing for the growth of our country and the growth of our game.”
TOO CLOSE FOR YOUR COMFORT?
The Rockets and Thunder are the only teams left at the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, one of three hotels that hosted NBA teams for the restart. Houston coach Mike D’Antoni joked that he never had to worry about bumping into a Thunder staff member in the elevator because he takes the stairs, but Donovan said lodging was not a problem.
“People have their own schedules, their own routines, the things they have to do,” Donovan said, “so you cross paths but it’s always been nice.” AP
