The Houston Rockets beat the Los Angeles Lakers at home 126-111 on Thursday, thanks to the team's MVP James Harden who put down 50 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists - the fourth 50+ point triple-double in his career and the largest in NBA history.
Harden sets new career record
James Harden of the Houston Rockets celebrates after making a three-pointer. /VCG Photo
Besides for Harden's triple-double, Houston's Clint Capela scored 16 points and 14 rebounds while Chris Paul dropped 14 points and nine assists. Eric Gordon and Danuel House also scored double digits with 13 and 15 points respectively.
LA's LeBron James put down the team's highest 29 points while Kyle Kuzma scored 24 points. The other three Lakers who dropped over ten points were Josh Hart (15), JaVale McGee (11) and Lance Stephenson (17).
Harden (C) dunks over JaVale McGee (L) of the Los Angeles Lakers. /VCG Photo
Before Thursday's game, the Rockets had already lost 14 of their 26 games and ranked second-last in the Western Conference, an unacceptable figure for a 65-win team last season. They would kill for a win and that desire was evident when Harden went into scoring mode in the first quarter, producing 13 points including a dunk in the face of 2.13-meter McGee and a 3+1 play.
However, the Lakers played a smart defense. They always had a big man standing between Harden and the basket when Capela tried to set a screen, thus was to both stop Harden from creating easy basket for Capela and make it difficult for Harden to attack the rim. Meanwhile, whoever defended Harden outside the 3-pt line would stay close enough to stop him from shooting three-pointers. Simply speaking, the Lakers were cutting the connections between Harden and his teammates to force him to carry Houston's offense by himself.
Lonzo Ball #2 of the Lakers scores two points via layup by attacking the rim of the Rockets. /VCG Photo
In offense, the Lakers chose to lure Capela out of the paint before they concentrated on attacking the basket via a mismatch. The Lakers' tactics worked for over three quarters of the game until Harden again took over the last four minutes by launching a 9-0 run of making three free throws and two three-pointers in 52 seconds. Thanks to his incredible performance, the Rockets established a safe lead and ensured their victory.
Though the Lakers chose the right defense, they made a poor job of rebound protecting, in which they lost 31-43, not to mention being 9-27 in second-chance points. Besides, the team's 55.56 percent free-throw rate was hardly satisfactory as no players other than Kuzma (7/7) and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (3/5) made at least half of their free throws.
Suns end 10 straight losses by defeating Mavericks
T.J. Warren #12 of the Phoenix Suns dunks to add two to the court's highest 30 points of his. /VCG Photo
Phoenix's T.J. Warren scored the court high of 30 points. 33-year-old Trevor Ariza, who has been at the center of many trade rumors, dropped 13 points and eight rebounds. The team's 2018 overall No.1 pick rookie, Deandre Ayton, scored only seven points and five rebounds.
Dallas' Harrison Barnes scored the team high of 15 points. DeAndre Jordan dropped 14 points and 15 rebounds. Their promising one-year rookie Luka Doncic put down 13 points, five rebounds and six assists.
As the only clearly tanking team in the Western Conference, the Suns maintained their position at the bottom in a very steady way by losing 24 of their 28 games before Thursday. In fact, it seems more like Phoenix did not win the game, it was the Mavericks who lost.
Dirk Nowitzki #41, legend of the Dallas Mavericks gives high five to Maximilian Kleber in his return to the court after 257 days. /VCG Photo
For most of the game, Dallas did not play as a team but acted as a group of individuals and, in defense, their players seemed to lack focus, allowing the Suns a lot of easy baskets and open shots. The only good news for the Mavericks was that their legend Dirk Nowitzki finally returned to the court after 257 days and scored two points and one rebound in six minutes.
The Suns' 20-year-old center Ayton is still adapting himself to NBA-level play. He played 26 minutes in the game, made three of 13 shots but committed four fouls. Ayton remarkable athleticism should be perfect for highlight reel play but in general, he was lost in front of the net and was poor in both timing and position when in defense.
20-year-old Deandre Ayton, one-year-rookie of the Suns dunks to get two points. /VCG Photo
Nonetheless, without a qualified point-guard to orchestrate everything and multiple straight seasons of failure, the Suns aren't exactly an encouraging environment for young players. With their lottery draft picks (from No.1 to No.14) since 2014, the Suns collected enough young talents but only saw Devine Booker grow into a star player. It's true that young players are usually valuable assets thanks to their cheap contracts and huge potential, but without proper guidance and correct franchise building plans, the time and talent of both the players and the team will only go to waste.
Other games on Thursday included: (away teams come first)
Los Angeles Clippers 87-125 San Antonio Spurs
Chicago Bulls 91-97 Orlando Magic