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NBA Playoffs -- Rockets fend off elimination, score Game 5 rout
By Franco Ching Alsay
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 14 May 2015
HOUSTON -- Down 3-1 in their Western Conference semifinals, playoffs elimination was a grave possibility for the sliding Houston Rockets.
But on Tuesday night at the Toyota Center, before a packed crowd of 18,142 fans, the Rockets showed both the fight and the might to live another day.
James Harden fought off flu-like symptoms and dished a triple-double (26 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists) to led Houston to a decisive 124-103 Game 5 victory over the L.A. Clippers, cutting the Rockets' deficit to 3-2.
"We had an opportunity in front of our home crowd to regain our swagger and we did that from the beginning of the game," said Harden, who made 9 of 20 field goals in 43 minutes of play.
Game 6 is Thursday night (Friday AM in the Philippines) at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
Trevor Ariza was also huge for the Rockets with 22 points and 8 boards. So was Dwight Howard, who added 20 markers and 15 rebounds. Corey Brewer and Terence Jones added 15 and 12 points, respectively.
With their playoffs lives on the line, the Rockets shot 54.1 percent from the field (46 of 85). Houston also easily won the rebounding battle, 58-39.
"They were more focused. They played like they were the desperate team, and we didn't play desperate," Clippers head coach Doc Rivers said during his post-game presser.
Blake Griffin was huge again for the Clips with 30 points and 16 rebounds while Chris Paul added 22 points and 10 assists.
But Los Angeles struggled mightily to make shots, converting only 38 of 91 field goals (41.8 percent). The Clips also misfired from long distance -- 9 of 35 (25.7 percent).
Photo: Despite battling the flu and a bevy of Clippers, James Harden (center) notched a triple-double to lead Houston to a 124-103 Game 5 win over Los Angeles on Tuesday night.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Franco Ching Alsay.
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