James Harden has a rare cold night but Houston Rockets survive to take 3-0 series lead on Utah Jazz
Sunday 21 April 2019 08:51, UK
Nikola Jokic led the way for the Denver Nuggets as they tied up their Western Conference playoff series with the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday, while the Houston Rockets edged out the Utah Jazz to take a 3-0 series lead.
Nikola Jokic racked up 29 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and added eight assists as the Denver Nuggets rolled to a 117-103 win over the San Antonio Spurs in Game 4 on Saturday to even the Western Conference first-round playoff series at 2-2.
The victory, which snapped a 14-game losing streak for the Nuggets in the Alamo City, gives Denver the chance to reclaim home-court advantage in Game Five on Tuesday.
With Jokic and Jamal Murray (24pts) working the pick-and-roll to perfection, the Nuggets outscored the Spurs 69-45 in the second and third quarters, in the process turning a 12-point deficit into a 12-point lead. They then led by as many as 19 points in the fourth quarter and cruised to the final buzzer.
Small forward Torrey Craig, drafted into the starting line-up for the first time since January 28, contributed 18 points while Will Barton hit 12 points off the bench for the visitors.
LaMarcus Aldridge led the Spurs with 24 points and nine rebounds, with DeMar DeRozan adding 19 points before being ejected late in the game. Patty Mills tallied 12 points off the bench for San Antonio, and Bryn Forbes scored 10.
DeRozan was given two quick technicals with 5:01 remaining after objecting to an offensive foul called against him by firing the ball in the direction of official Scott Foster.
San Antonio had earlier earned a 34-22 advantage at the end of the first before Denver roared back in the second, using an 8-0 run late in the period to move ahead 54-52 on a floating jumper by Murray with 1:22 to play.
Aldridge's put-back hook shot with 12.2 seconds remaining sent the game to half-time tied at 54, but that was as close as the Spurs would get.
James Harden had 22 points, 10 assists and six steals to rally the Houston Rockets to a 104-101 victory over the Utah Jazz on Saturday night in Salt Lake City.
Chris Paul added 18 points for Houston, who took a 3-0 series lead ahead of Monday's Game Four in Utah.
Donovan Mitchell scored 34 points to lead the Jazz, but missed a three-pointer in the final seconds that would have sent the game to overtime.
Derrick Favors added 13 points, while Rudy Gobert chipped in 10 points, eight rebounds and seven blocked shots, but the Jazz were undone by 14 turnovers and 13 missed free throws.
Harden remarkably went 0-of-14 from the field through the first three quarters, missing 15 straight shots overall before scoring on a dunk with 7:34 left in the fourth quarter. He finished 3-of-20 from the field but made hay at the free-throw line by sinking 14 of 16 attempts.
And Houston weathered Harden's shooting slump by getting key contributions from multiple role players, as Clint Capela had 11 points and 14 rebounds, while PJ Tucker had 12 and 10, respectively.
After Georges Niang hit a jumper to extend Utah's lead to 80-76, Gerald Green put the Rockets in front with back-to-back three-pointers to spark a 13-3 run that Harden finished off with back-to-back baskets of his own to give Houston an 89-83 lead with 6:57 remaining.
Mitchell hit a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 96-95 only for Harden to answer from beyond the arc and then add a pair of free throws to make it 101-97 in the final minute.
And Mitchell's late missed three means the Jazz must win on Sunday to avoid being swept in the first round.
