|
 Harden posted a double-double and engineered a breathtaking
comeback, leading the Houston Rockets to a 108-103 overtime victory
over the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night at Toyota Center.
Harden finished with 45 points and 11 assists plus eight rebounds
and five steals, scoring 26 points in the fourth quarter and
overtime to help the Rockets (5-7) snap a four-game losing streak in
the debut of interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff. Harden poured in 17
points during the Rockets' 38-point fourth quarter and followed that
with a pair of baseline jumpers in the extra period that secured the
lead for good.
Afterward, Harden acknowledged that more than a coaching change was
in order.
"Something had to change and I felt like for me, I had to change in
order for us to be more positive, get more energy," Harden said.
"Whatever happened this morning, my mindset coming in today was just
to be great at what I do, and that's being a leader and bringing
great support on the team."
Trail Blazers guard C.J. McCollum finished with 19 points and hit
what appeared to be a backbreaking 3-pointer with 4:54 left in
regulation after two free throws by guard Damian Lillard (23 points)
halted an 8-0 Rockets run. Houston had clawed to within 83-81 before
the Lillard free throws and the McCollum trey bumped the deficit to
seven.
But the Rockets wouldn't relent. Harden sank a 3-pointer with 38.6
seconds left to cut the deficit to 97-94 and, after Trail Blazers
forward Al-Farouq Aminu (16 points, 15 rebounds) made two free
throws with 6.6 seconds left to rebuild the lead to three, Rockets
swingman Corey Brewer (16 points) nailed a running 30-footer with
0.9 seconds remaining to send the game to overtime tied 99-99.
Rockets center Dwight Howard grabbed 19 rebounds and forward Trevor
Ariza added 18 points and eight rebounds. For Houston, the comeback
was a reversal of fortune following a string of ugly losses.
"It's good. It's what we needed," Bickerstaff said. "And the way it
happened I say is the way we needed it to happen."
Guard Allen Crabbe scored 13 of his 15 points in the second quarter
for Portland (4-9), which dropped its seventh consecutive game.
Even with the Trail Blazers committing eight turnovers in the first
quarter, the best Houston could muster with a five-point lead at
22-17. And no matter how much scrambling the Rockets did
defensively, they could not overcome their woeful second-quarter
shooting (4 of 25) and an inability to locate Crabbe in the corners.
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Crabbe nailed three treys by the 5:07 mark of the second quarter,
with his third lifting the Blazers to a 34-31 lead. Houston later
went nearly four minutes without a basket and Portland closed the
half with an 11-2 run.
Portland bumped its advantage to 69-52 on an Aminu turnaround with
2:38 left in the third and things started to feel familiar for the
Rockets. But they mustered one last -- and surprising -- gasp in the
fourth quarter, setting the stage for the heroics they'd been
lacking.
"They had a lot of momentum and we couldn't hit our shots," Portland
coach Terry Stotts said. "We didn't shoot the ball well in the
fourth quarter. You can't give up 38 points in the fourth quarter.
Bottom line, we weren't able to close them out."
Said Trail Blazers guard Gerald Henderson of Harden: "He played like
himself. He's proven to be a clutch player, and he's made a lot of
big plays. He did it tonight again."
NOTES: With the Rockets firing coach Kevin McHale earlier on
Wednesday, Houston assistant J.B. Bickerstaff was elevated to
interim head coach and began the process of initiating what he hopes
is a turnaround. "It's to get back to who we were, who we've been,"
Bickerstaff said of his plan. "Who we were when we had our most
success." ... Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts can identify with the
position Bickerstaff finds himself in, having served as interim
coach with the Atlanta Hawks after Lon Kruger was fired 27 games
into the 2002-03 season. "You don't worry about any of that, you
just prepare for each game," Stotts said of the interim tag. "The
work keeps you pretty occupied. I know J.B. is going to be working
his tail off." ... Houston players took the brunt of the blame after
McHale was dismissed, primarily for their lack of defensive effort.
They didn't shy from that burden. "We are responsible. Coach can't
make us play hard," Rockets G/F Corey Brewer said. "That's up to us.
It's got to be a wakeup call. We've got to get better. It's about
winning."
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