The Oklahoma City Thunder are not going to be swept in their first-round series against the Houston Rockets. That much is known after Chris Paul and company scored a huge win in Game 3.
Will the good times keep rolling for the Thunder? Or, will the Rockets get back to their winning ways? Catch this game live on Tuesday at 4:00 AM, Manila time.
HOME TEAM: #5 Oklahoma City Thunder (1-2)
The Thunder finally struck. With Dennis Schroder playing his best game of the series, Oklahoma City derailed the 3-0 plans of Houston last Sunday in a 119-107 overtime victory.
Schroder came off the bench and dropped a 29-point bomb that helped the Thunder balance out the offense between the starters and the second unit. Chris Paul scored 26 points and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander also muscled out 23 points.
This kind of game was what the Thunder were long waiting for from their prized sixth-man in the playoffs, as Schroder scored just 19 points combined in the previous two games. Another emerging figure in the series for the Thunder is Luguentz Dort, who had success defending James Harden in Game 3.
Harden will always get his buckets but slowing him down can go a long way for the Thunder, who possibly could miss a key piece of their defense in Game 4. Big man Steven Adams left Game 3 with a right knee issue and did not return, though, it doesn’t look serious enough to keep the tough-as-nails Kiwi from playing on Tuesday.
ROAD TEAM: #4 Houston Rockets (2-1)
James Harden scored 38 points in Game 3, but that’s not really a story anymore. What’s more surprising in this series is the return to relevance of Jeff Green, who’s been playing above expectations in the playoffs.
Green, who scored 22 points with five treys in Sunday’s loss to Oklahoma City, is averaging 19.7 points over his last three games. He’s among those who are making things easier for the Rockets while Russell Westbrook is shelved with a quad injury.
Eric Gordon is another one of those, though he went just 8 for 24 from the field for 18 points in Game 3. But the Rockets are not a team that would discourage a scorer from launching shots just because of a cold outing.
The Rockets are connecting 18 triples per game on 34.2 3FG% in the playoffs. Westbrook is reportedly getting better, but he’s still without an exact date for his return, so the Rockets will just have to continue rolling with a Harden-led gang of stretch-forwards.
PREDICTIONS:
It’s the Thunder’s turn to have momentum on their side, and with Dennis Schroder’s arrival in the series, Oklahoma City should continue to match up well with Houston’s small-ball tactic. Game 4 will be won by the Thunder, 120-115.
