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The Houston Rockets wasted no breath in finishing their Conference Semifinals series at the first available opportunity. Coming into this game on the back of 2 morale-boosting victories at the Vivint Smart Home Arena, the Rockets were not lacking for confidence by any stretch of the imagination.
They did have to be wary of the Jazz coming out swinging, and the Jazz played their part in keeping Game 5 mightily close till the end of the 4th quarter. Unfortunately for them, they suffered from yet another injury hurdle as Donovan Mitchell was forced off the hardwood with a knee problem in the 4th quarter.
Chris Paul was already heating up at that point, and he sealed the deal with some delectable offensive play right at the end of the game. The Point God left no stone unturned in ensuring a smooth passage into the first Conference Finals series after 85 games of postseason play.
The following are 5 talking points from the elimination game:
#5 The battle for paint dominance was fascinating
Rudy Gobert had, so far in the series, been outplayed considerably by his opposite number Clint Capela. It was a topic raised several times on the broadcast by Reggie Miller and co in the TNT coverage team.
Gobert responded to all this talk with a showing more reminiscent of his form in the series against the Oklahoma City Thunder. He controlled his own paint area with characteristic dominance, and he managed to establish much better positions and make better plays on offense than he had all series long. The Stifle Tower finished with 12 points, 9 rebounds and 5 vicious blocks and a credible +/- of +2 in a 10-point loss while altering a number of shots from inside the paint.
Capela pretty much picked up where he left off in Game 4. The Swiss man was much more comfortable switching out onto the perimeter than his French counterpart on defense, while controlling the paint area handily as well. Capela was not involved in much offensive play, but he did have 7 rebounds, 3 steals and 5 blocks to add to his 5 points, and he was one of the primary reasons why the Utah Jazz finished the first quarter with a below-average 16 points on the scoreboard.
#4 Alec Burks lit up the scoreboard in a credible display
Burks is the only Jazz player remaining in the 2018 Playoffs from the team that made it to that stage in the lockout-shortened 2011-12 season. A largely forgotten commodity in NBA circles, Burks is a player who only had a following amongst Utah Jazz faithful.
Burks has been a shot in the arm for coach Quin Snyder in the playoffs, and he was quite influential in the shock Game 2 win they engineered. In game 5, Burks was a welcome scoring presence off the bench, as he proceeded to score 22 crucial points for a Jazz team which had the likes of Jae Crowder, Raul Neto, and Derrick Favors struggling to score.
Burks' straight-line speed allowed him to score off transition opportunities, as well as in the half-court set. The 7th-year veteran displayed impressive handles in laying up a number of shots, while he was also an effective shooter from downtown with figures of 3-for-5. Burks also knocked down all 5 of his free throw attempts.
#3 PJ Tucker picked up James Harden's slack on offense
The Rockets were stuck in a scoring quagmire for much of the first half, as they finished with just 21 points through the first quarter. Much of the explanation for this are the struggles that James Harden had in shooting on the night.
Harden did finish with 18 points to add to his scoring kitty, but they came in ugly fashion off 22 shots, featuring only 7 makes. His floaters were off, he turned the ball over on lobs and in the half-court set and he did not get himself into shooting rhythm all night long. He had an abnormally low 4 free throw attempts on the night, and the Rockets would perhaps have lost this game with the players they had last year.
They didn't happen, however, and one of the players they added in the summer of 2017 proved to be the difference between an ignominious home loss and a series-clinching victory. PJ Tucker played his 3-and-D role to the T, knocking down 4 crucial 3-pointers from the corners. Tucker finished the night with 19 points, 6 rebounds, 3 blocks and a +/- of +12 while making 7 of his 9 shot attempts, including 5 of his 7 3-pointers.
It was for games like this that Daryl Morey picked him up off the free agent market last summer, and Tucker will be a crucial component of this team going forward in the playoffs this year.
#2 Donovan Mitchell's valiant efforts ended tragically
Through the first half of the game, Mitchell was in ice-cold shooting touch. He looked mainly to be a playmaker for the rest of his team, and he was being defended excellently by the Rockets' wing players - particularly Trevor Ariza. At the break, Mitchell was 1-for-6 from the field and had no free throw attempts.
It is probable that Quin Snyder gave him an earful and goaded him into action in the 3rd quarter, as the rookie went ballistic in the 3rd quarter. SpidaMitchell scored 22 points in the 3rd quarter, and even nailed a DEEP 3-pointer.
His driving game, stale and predictable in the first couple of quarters, turned into an unguardable weapon in the 3rd quarter as he finished a number of how-did-he-do-that layups with amazing alacrity to power the Jazz to a 3-point lead heading into the 4th quarter.
It was a pitiful sight to see the rookie having to go off after taking a hit to his knee from James Harden late in the 4th quarter. He deserved to have a go at the Rockets at the fag end of an elimination game and reinforce his credentials as a clutch player, and the enduring image that most neutral fans will take from this game is Ricky Rubio attempting to console him as he sat teary-eyed on the bench as the game clock winded down.
#1 Chris Paul made sure that he didn't drop another series from 3-1 up
At the end of game 4, TNT sideline reporter Kristen Ledlow popped the question about how CP3 felt about the series after the game. Paul's reply was self-deprecatingly witty, as he remarked
I've been here before, 3-1. S*** went bad real quick.
Paul was referring to the 3-1 series lead the Clippers held against the Rockets, before the Rockets' frankly outrageous comeback to make the Conference Finals in 2015. Well, the Rockets returned to that stage after a 3-year hiatus by hinging heavily on Paul's excellent display in Game 5.
The Point God took a while to get into his mojo, but he was at his masterful best in the 4th quarter as the Jazz kept making buckets instead of folding. Their efforts were put to bed by Paul's 41 point, 10 rebound, 7 assist clinic.
Paul converted 13 of his 22 field goal attempts, but these numbers are skewed since he missed some of his first quarter attempts. He was red hot for 3 quarters, and this shows in his scorching 8-of-10 shooting from downtown. Paul also had 0 turnovers, and he took over as the alpha dog for the Rockets in the 4th quarter owing to Harden's off shooting night.
Guess the Lakers players!
