Despite struggling to find a steady rhythm throughout the night, the Houston Rockets would somehow find a way to prevail in one of the league’s toughest environments. Here are the three takeaways from Clutch City’s Game 3 win.
On an evening where things appeared as though they could go completely awry for the Houston Rockets, James Harden would display the will to overcome one of the worst shooting nights of his career with the game on the line.
Harden, who missed his first 15 shots on the night, scored 14 of his team-high 22 points in the fourth quarter to guide the Rockets to a 104-101 victory against the Utah Jazz in Game 3 of the Western Conference quarterfinals.
"“We found a way to win,” Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni told reporters following the outing. “We just didn’t play well. We made some silly turnovers…normally we would say that you can’t win that way. But because of defense, rebounding and big shots…some good stuff happened.”"
Houston — which trailed by as many as eight points in the game’s opening minutes — did not manage to gain full control of the back-and-forth battle until Harden nailed a 3-pointer and sunk two free throws late in regulation to provide the Rockets with a four-point lead in the latter stages of the contest.
Chris Paul contributed to the cause for Houston with 18 points and four assists, while Donovan Mitchell led the way for Utah with a game-high 34 points in a gutsy effort.
Here are the three major takeaways from Clutch City’s narrow win in Game 3.