The Houston Rockets got off to a hot start in their first playoff game, going on a 19-4 run to go up 19-6 early on. Dwight Howard looked like an absolute beast despite getting in foul trouble. In the first 5 minutes, Dwight had a couple powerful dunks and 3 blocks, including this one on Tyson Chandler). He reminded fans that he can still be the best center in the NBA for stretches. Everything was going right for the Rockets early on. All their shots were falling, especially those from James Harden and Jason Terry. It also helped that Dwight Howard was an absolute beast defensively, doing a great job of protecting the paint.
The Rockets played extremely well early in the game but showed their lack of depth. Rookie Clint Capela, who only played in 10 regular season games, played in the first quarter, and wound up playing 16 minutes. The Mavs used the Hack-a-Capela strategy early on, as Capela shot just 4-19 from the free throw line during the regular season. Capela went 2-4 from the free throw line in the game. Nevertheless, the Rockets looked like the far superior team early on, while the Mavs started the game extremely cold. They couldn’t hit a 3 to save their lives, and committed a bunch of careless turnovers
However, in the second quarter, Dallas came to life behind strong play from Rajon Rondo and Dirk Nowitzki. Rondo scored 11 points to go along with 3 assists in the second quarter alone. With 4:44 to go in the half, the Mavs tied the game up after a jumper from Dirk, completing a 21-4 run. Then, Rondo made a reverse layup to give the team their first lead since they led 2-0. This surge came in part from Dwight Howard having to remain on the bench in foul trouble. The Rockets wouldn’t let it end there, though. They battled back and lead 59-55 at the half.
Houston started the second half hot as well. They went on a 6-0 run right away to stretch the lead to 10. Fortunately for Dallas, Dirk ended that run with a 4-point play. Soon after, Dwight Howard earned his fourth foul by pushing Nowitzki to the ground. Once again, Howard had to go to the bench in foul trouble. Houston lead by 10 with a few seconds remaining in the quarter, but Monta Ellis knocked down a 3 off the dribble as time expired, and the score after 3 was 84-77.
The 4th quarter was pretty even for awhile, and the lead remained around the same. Finally, one team broke the balance. That team was the Rockets. Trevor Ariza saved a lost possession with a quick three to beat the shot clock, Corey Brewer, who started the game shooting 1-6 from the field, knocked down three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter. Brewer finished the game with 15 points, 13 of those coming in the fourth quarter. Dallas was unable to come back, as all the momentum was with the Rockets after Brewer’s hot shooting. The final score of the game was 118-108, Houston won.
The Rockets received contributions from many players. James Harden finished with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Terrence Jones scored 19 points to go with 9 rebounds and 6 assists. Jason Terry scored 16, and Trevor Ariza finished with a double-double(12 points and 11 rebounds). Dwight Howard played well despite playing only 17 minutes. Howard swatted 5 shots to go with 11 points and 5 rebounds.
Dallas committed far too many sloppy turnovers, and didn’t shoot well at all. Monta Ellis, Rajon Rondo, Chandler Parsons, and Amar’e Stoudemire combined to shoot 19-59 from the field. Dirk shot an impressive 10-14 from the field, but had a season-high 6 turnovers, most of which were unnecessary.
The Mavs will need to work on their turnovers, defense, and shooting if they want to win Game 2. Game 2 will be played on Tuesday, April 21st.
