The Oklahoma City Thunder and the Houston Rockets have exchanged back-to-back wins to bring the series into a 2-2 tie.
Which team will go ahead and take a 3-2 lead after Game 5? Catch it live on Sunday August 30 at 6:30 AM, Manila time.
HOME TEAM: #4 Houston Rockets (2-2)
The Rockets had Oklahoma City in the corner but allowed the Thunder to escape in Game 4’s 117-114 loss. Houston was nursing a 15-point lead at one point in the third quarter, as the Rockets hit eight 3-pointers in a row to start the second half, but their defense could not stop Oklahoma City from making a run.
James Harden scored 32 points and registered 15 assists in another great effort. Eric Gordon played the Robin to Harden’s Batman by coming through with 23 points, and Danuel House Jr. put up 21 points.
Houston could use a hand from Russell Westbrook to shift the tide, and he’s coming back for tomorrow’s game. While he’s back, the Rockets are looking for the likes of Jeff Green, Ben McLemore, and Austin Rivers to help, something the trio didn’t do in Game 4, as they only combined for 13 points.
The Rockets are still leading all teams in the playoffs with 19.3 3-pointers per game.
ROAD TEAM: #5 Oklahoma City Thunder (2-2)
Dennis Schroder is back at it again. After ending his slump in Game 3, Schroder continued to be a huge thorn in the side of Houston, as he scored 30 points off the bench in Game 4. Schroder easily outscored the Rockets’ second unit, which had a paltry total of 13 points. When Schroder is playing well, the Thunder have shown it can hang with Houston. Schroder and Luguentz Dort combined for seven of the Thunder’s 11 triples.
Speaking of the (Sun) Devil, Dort has become another irritant to Houston, particularly to Harden, a fellow Arizona State product. Dort continues to have success in his matchup with Harden. In fact, Harden is shooting just 23.5 FG% and 24.0 3FG% when Dort is his closest defender. In addition, Oklahoma City’s defense was noticeably honest in Game 4 that the Rockets only took 10 free-throw attempts. Houston was second in the regular season with 20.6 FTA per game.
PREDICTIONS:
No one saw Dort as having this big of an impact in this series, but people are now starting to take notice.
With Brodie back to energize the rockets, we’re taking them to win 114-110.
