James Harden Calls Rockets Offense 'Different' After Game 1 Blowout Win vs. Jazz
The Utah Jazz feature a number of defensive weapons to throw at the Houston Rockets, including Rudy Gobert protecting the rim and Jae Crowder to bother perimeter shooters, but an offense James Hardencalled "different" had no issue during Sunday's Game 1 in a 110-96 victory.
As NBA TV shared, the MVP candidate had plenty of good things to say about his team's performance, which was largely driven by his outing of 41 points, eight rebounds and seven assists on 12-of-26 shooting from the field and 7-of-12 from downtown:
NBA TV ✔@NBATV"This team. Us. We're different." - James Harden#GameTime
That Houston's offense thrived in its opening game of the second round was no surprise considering it has scored in triple figures in all six of its playoff contests and was second in the league in offensive rating during the regular season, per NBA.com.
His ability to stretch the floor from deep while also getting into the lane and either finishing for himself or finding shooters such as Trevor Ariza, Eric Gordon or PJ Tucker on the perimeter when the defense collapses gives the Rockets an additional dimension they were missing in prior versions. Read More Here
SportsPulse: USA TODAY Sports' Jeff Zillgitt breaks down the Cavs’ Game 7 win over the Pacers and looks ahead to their next series against the Raptors. USA TODAY Sports
(Photo: David Richard, USA TODAY Sports)
CLEVELAND — LeBron James wasn’t ready for his season to end in April.
He has at least four more games with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Maybe more. But at least four.
Facing elimination in the first round for the first time in his career and playing in the first Game 7 in the first round of his career, James delivered another legendary performance and kept the Cavs’ season alive with 45 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and four steals in Cleveland’s 105-101 victory over Indiana.
They needed every ounce of James' cramp-stricken performance. The Pacers, led by Victor Oladipo’s 30 points on Sunday, outscored the Cavs 704-664 in the series, but Indiana reserve Trevor Booker had this biased observation: "Honestly, I think we were the better team, and they had the best player in the world."
The first half of Booker's statement is debatable, the second half not as much.
It was James’ 22nd career playoff game with at least 40 points, including his third in this series, and an axiom remains true: beating James four times in an Eastern Conference series remains incredibly difficult.
“This was a tough series,” James said. “Indiana played us as tough as anybody has played us all year. They’ve just got a really good team.’James is now 5-2 in Game 7s with five consecutive victories and is averaging 34.9 points, 9.3 rebounds and 5.1 assists in a Game 7. Read More Here
LeBron James erupts for big first half in Game 7 vs Indiana Pacers | ESPN
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