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James Harden's triple-double sends Spurs to 3rd straight home loss
Houston Rockets superstar James Harden has been the statistical revelation of the young 2016-17 season, putting up his usually terrific scoring numbers and also leading the league in assists as the primary creator in head coach Mike D’Antoni’s shot-happy offense. Never short on confidence, Harden has taken on unprecedented offensive responsibility without losing anything in shooting efficiency. He’s also been very fun to watch, a major turnaround from the aesthetic lows of last year’s Rockets.
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Those qualities were all on display in Wednesday’s 101-99 victory at the San Antonio Spurs. Harden put up big numbers — 34 points, 15 assists, and 12 rebounds in his first triple-double of the season. Ever the maximalist, Harden added eight turnovers and either failed to score or turned it over on Houston’s final six possessions. It was a simultaneously brilliant and maddening showing — he was the hero and would have been the goat had the Rockets lost.
They didn’t, though, thanks in part to a defense that has been anything but stingy so far this season. A breakneck first half — Houston led 63-60 at the break — gave way to a very different second in which neither team managed more than 39 points. The Spurs had two close looks to get to 41 on the game’s final possession, but they were unable to convert:
That ending meant a third-straight home loss for the Spurs, who lost just one regular season game at AT&T Center during the entire 2015-16 season. All three have come against groups that rate as solid playoff teams — the Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers, and Utah Jazz (in reverse order) — but it’s still a troubling streak of defeats for a squad that’s considered a title contender. The one clear bright spot is that Kawhi Leonard continues to look like a do-everything superstar and MVP candidate. His 34 points were major, although it’s certainly a problem that only two others scored in double figures with a team shooting percentage under 40 percent.
It’s certainly too early to proclaim that the Rockets boast an ascendant defense, but this game showed plenty of good signs. Harden was great and made the offense run, but his minus-12 indicates that his team did just fine in the seven minutes he was off the floor. (Wednesday’s contest marked just the second time in seven games this season that Harden has finished with a negative plus-minus, too, so it’s not as if he’s obscuring huge problems with great individual stats.) There are still big holes on this team, particularly inside. But the “play fast and break things” approach can still work. At 4-3 with only one home game on the schedule so far, the Rockets have reason to be hopeful.
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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at efreeman_ysports@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
