The Houston Rockets managed to take Game 4 with a 113-92 victory Sunday night, tying the series at two games a piece.
James Harden led the way, tallying 28 points, 12 assists and five rebounds on the night. Houston also saw help from Ryan Anderson (13 points), Eric Gordon (22 points, 5-for-9 from deep), and Clint Capela (nine rebounds in 25 minutes).
The key difference for Houston was their 3-point shooting. After shooting just 12-of-39 (31 percent) from behind-the-arc last game, the Rockets were an efficient 19-of-43 tonight (44 percent).
San Antonio’s Kawhi Leonard, as usual, was a handful for Houston. He finished with 16 points on 7-for-14 shooting while playing his usual stellar defense in only 29 minutes. Jonathon Simmons (17 points off the bench), Patty Mills (10 points), and LaMarcus Aldridge (16 points) also pitched in for the Spurs.
Nevertheless, Houston controlled the game from the get-go and held onto a lead for nearly all 48 minutes.
The game was full of highlights from both sides:
Kawhi Leonard pulled a trick out of James Harden’s bag with this and-one jumper:
Kawhi taking a page out of Harden's book#GoSpursGo pic.twitter.com/CQSiIJV2qb
— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) May 8, 2017
Lou Williams reminded everyone, including Danny Green, that he’s not just a three-point scorer:
Sweet Lou drives inside for the slam#Rockets
(Via @clippittv) pic.twitter.com/fHac1cxKyA— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) May 8, 2017
Harden showcased an array of moves against LaMarcus Aldridge in the third:
Harden got Aldridge looking like the penguin from Happy Feet#Rockets pic.twitter.com/ugjabmeyNV
— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) May 8, 2017
It also included unfortunate injuries, particularly for the Rockets.
Nene left the game early with a groin injury. He would leave the arena and head to a hospital for an MRI shortly afterwards.
James Harden banged knees with the Spurs’ Patty Mills and appeared to be injured, but walked it off and returned to the floor minutes later. He played the rest of the game without a noticeable limp.
Scary moment for Rockets fans.
Harden and Mills bump knees and Harden looked to be in a lot of pain#Rockets
(Via @clippittv) pic.twitter.com/5jR9LX0L9w— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) May 8, 2017
Despite losing tonight, the Spurs still hold home court advantage in the series. They set out to win a game on the road and did so in Game 3, which means Houston still has some work to do.
The series now heads back to San Antonio for Game 5 on Tuesday night.
