James Harden and the Houston Rockets overcame a 0-2 deficit to equal their Western Conference semifinal series against the Golden State Warriors after another game in which they struggled and endured a late offense to clinch victory.
Harden scored 38 points and the Rockets beat the Warriors 112-108 to tie the series at 2-2.
“When you have to deal with these guys, if you let Klay (Thompson) and Steph (Curry) run and shoot 3s, you don’t have a chance,” Harden said. “The only chance we have is to stick to them and respond to every shot they take.”
The Rockets held a nine-point lead before Golden State scored the next seven, capped by a Stephen Curry 3-pointer that pushed the score to 110-108 with 19 seconds remaining.
Harden made one of two free throws with 11.5 seconds left. Kevin Durant missed a 3-pointer, but the Warriors caught the rebound, and Curry also missed from three-point range, before the Warriors were forced to foul Chris Paul.
“We had a couple of occasions … they didn’t fall on our side,” Durant said.
With 2.9 seconds remaining, Paul made one of two free throws and Houston secured the win.
After losing the first two games of the series on the road, the Rockets return to Oakland for Game 5 on Wednesday night. They will arrive with good momentum, after winning the third commitment in an overtime and taking the duel on Monday with their nails.
Kevin Durant, who contributed 46 points in Game 3, scored 34 this time. Curry, criticized after hitting just seven of 23 shots in Game 3, started the fourth well, with 11 points in the opening period.
But the star cooled down afterwards and finished with 30 points, making 12 of 25 shots. AP