Thunder star Chris Paul shrugged off the blame after Thursday’s 111-98 loss, giving the Houston Rockets a 2-0 lead in their first-round Western Conference series, despite having Russell Westbrook in neither game.
Paul acknowledged that he “needs to do more.”
“Straight up. It’s that simple,” Paul said. “That run they went to at the beginning of the fourth quarter, that can not happen. Gotta be better. I have to be better. That’s the hard thing, to know how hard we fought, boys worked hard. We put in the effort. position to win that game, and I have to be better for us. “
In 37 minutes, Paul scored 14 points on shots 6 for 15 with 6 rebounds and 2 assists.
“In a normal world, not COVID, not a bubble, we would go home two games,” Paul said. “We have to take it one game at a time, learn from this game, and hell, I have to get up. That simple.”
The Thunder led 80-77 when Paul opened the final frame with a midrange jumper. But with James Harden sitting just two points short, the Rockets shook OKC with a 17-0 run to take control of the game, and the series.
“Unbelievable, man. That was the game right there,” Harden said. “The boys just took it upon themselves to protect. We felt in the sense that Oklahoma City was getting tired, and we pressed the gas on them. That was a game-changer there for us.”
The Thunder were encouraged by the return of rookie defensive stopper Lu Dort, who missed Game 1 due to a knee strain. Dort was the primary defender at Harden and played a significant part in his shooting problems. Harden finished with 21 points on 5-for-16 shots, including 2-for-11 from 3-point range.
But Harden adapted, shifting to the role of facilitator, relying on the Rockets role players to score. Eight Rockets saw time in Game 2, and seven scored in double digits.
“As you get deeper, you need your team. You need guys to play well, you need guys to make great shots, make great plays defensively and offensively,” Harden said. “Tonight I did not play well – or I did not shoot the ball well – so it just looked more marked. But boys, my teammates, have played well all year.”
The loss was deflating for the Thunder, who made adjustments after wrestling with the Rockets’ small ball quirks in Game 1. The offense improved in streaks, but still saw extended offensive droughts. And despite keeping Harden in check, the team runs away into a 0-2 series gap.
“We communicated much better to get into this game, knew what our plan was, knew what we wanted to do. But I mean, no moral victories,” Paul said, and his voice changed.
“Yeah, I just, uh, I don’t know,” he said. “My boys worked as hard as we could, fought really hard and we put ourselves in position and I let this one of us get away.”
When asked which areas specifically felt he should have been better, Paul does not point to one thing.
“It’s a lot,” he said. “I’ll go back and watch the movie, but I know what it is. It’s a lot.”
Paul has been the talisman for the Thunder all season, and has carried the team both on and off the floor. His value was most felt in promoting balance and chemistry, but judged himself late in close games as he led the league in scoring-time scoring with a wide margin. The two games against Houston, though, have not been close enough for Paul to flex his crunchtime muscle. He completed Game 1 an assist short of a triple-double, but did not do much of his damage until the Thunder attempted to make a late comeback.
In Game 2, second-year rising star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander jumped back from a rough opening game, finishing with a playoff career-high 31 points on 9-for-17 shots.
The Thunder are looking for Game 3 to try and find a way back in the series, where the virtual courtyard for home moved. Meanwhile, the Rockets are trying to absorb the pressure and take full control.
Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni acknowledged that going up 2-0 made the team feel less urgent to get Westbrook back, but noted that they would not otherwise be in a hurry. The first two games were positive signs in the can without Westbrook coming in, who is with a straight quad tension, but for the Rockets to make a deep push, they know they will need him back. And they certainly do not think so far ahead.
“I just told the team that all we did was defend the court of the house,” D’Antoni deadpanned. “Now we have to go to Oklahoma City and play.”
Did the team buy that? No. I do not understand it, but they laughed at me, “he said. I do not get it. “
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