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LAKE BUENA VISTA, Florida: Russell Westbrook is back.
Dennis Schroder left.
That was a lucky turn of events for the Houston Rockets.
James Harden scored 31 points and Westbrook returned from injury to face his former team in the playoffs for the first time, helping the Rockets beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 114-80 on Saturday night (early Sunday in Manila). by a 3-2. lead the first round playoff series.
“We have missed him the first four games. Now we have it and let’s see what we can do, ”Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said. “I knew it was going to be a little rusty, but it gave us a little spark.”
Two-time scoring champion and 2016-17 league MVP, Westbrook averaged 27.1 points in his first season in Houston, but had played just one game since Aug. 4 due to a right quadriceps strain, missing the first four games of Rockets playoffs. He finished with seven points, six rebounds and seven assists in 23 minutes against the team in which he played the first 11 years of his career.
“He brought that energy. He brought that emotion that we were missing, ”said Harden. “We need it”.
Schroder led the Thunder with 19 points, 18 of them in the second quarter, when Oklahoma City had its only advantage of the game. But he was sent off midway through the third for punching PJ Tucker in the groin while trying to fight through a screen; Tucker was also expelled after retaliating with a head butt.
“It was kind of an explosive play,” Thunder coach Billy Donovan said. “I understand, with PJ being expelled, maybe I felt Dennis needed to be expelled. But again, it was an illegal display. I’m not even going to speculate or know [how] to read Dennis’s mind. “
Robert Covington had 20 of his 22 points in the second half, and Eric Gordon had 20 total for the Rockets, who can advance to the conference semifinals for the fourth year in a row with a victory in Game 6 on Monday.
Steven Adams had 12 points and 14 rebounds, and Darius Bazley had 10 points and 12 rebounds for the Thunder. They lost by three at halftime before giving up 19 of the first 21 points of the third.
Houston scored 20 of the game’s first 27 points, but the Thunder erased the deficit in the second, taking a brief lead of up to five points, before the Rockets took a 48-45 lead at the half. Houston edged the Thunder 37-18 in the third.
You are out
Midway through the third quarter, with Houston leading 67-49, Tucker placed a pick on Schroder, who placed his right arm between Tucker’s legs. When the two players got up, Tucker walked over to Schroder and butted him from behind.
After watching the video, referee James Capers called a Flagrant 2 foul on Schroder and sent him off. Tucker received a technical foul with an ejection.
“When Schroder tried to get across the screen, [he] delivers an unnecessary and excessive act on Tucker’s groin. Tucker gets up and heads Schroder on the head, ”Capers told a pool reporter. “It was unnecessary and excessive and, as a rule, that is the definition of a flagrant penalty 2”.
Off the pitch
The teams were scheduled to play the game Wednesday before the league suspended all games following the Milwaukee Bucks’ decision not to play in protest of racial justice.
As president of the players’ association, Thunder point guard Chris Paul was one of the busiest people during the strike. He finished with 16 points and three assists, hitting 1 of 5 from 3-point range, while Oklahoma City was 7 of 46 as a team.
“There are no excuses,” Paul said. “It has been a very emotional few days for everyone on our team, as well as for his team.
“To be honest with you, it was good to go out and play,” he said. “But as soon as the game is over, he goes back to work.”
Suggestions
Harden extended his playoff game streak with 20 or more points to 18 in a row, the longest active streak in the league … The Rockets are 6-0 when they hold an opponent below 100 points … George Hill remained in the tunnel during the national anthem championship, but later explained that it was part of a pre-game ritual to use the bathroom.
