2 things I love about this: 1) We actually have plays drawn up at the end of games, not *clap* *clap* "play harder" 2) Rubio's tantrum after the tying Ariza 3
We are a veteran team, we just did what a vet team in these situations does T wolves got a lot to learn, learn from us.
Rockets were down 12 with almost 2 minutes left in the game. I don't have any stats on this but our vet professionals such as @topfive or @heypartner could probably chime in and lay them down, but dude thinks that teams down 12 with 2 minutes left probably lose the game 99% of the time. Wolves are young, but you have to credit the Rockets too for hanging in and we have young players too and a completely new team that is still learning to play together. It was the vets who pulled this one out for us, though. Refs were also heavily against the Rox for most of the night, and our starting center went down. Just a gutsy win for our squad.
I have watched this a number of times. Simply amazing! For those who think we should empty the bench when we are leading by double digits, this is a reminder A LOT can happen in a short period of time in the NBA.
Does any team have more of these types of wins? You have the first championship run, tmac 13 in 35, the clippers series, and now this.... This is clutch city for real.
Two pivotal plays for the Rockets were an Anderson steal, and a Beverley block at the rim. Talk about unexpected. And I love how nonchalant Harden seems during the entire time. He just expects the team to be able to come back.
Harden made some key passes down the stretch in regulation and then he took over in OT, but he actually trusted his team to pull it out. Harden is 100% all in on this squad which is a good sign.
Beverley did some amazing things in the 4th, he is playing some great ball right now, I was never a fan of his style of play but I have to give it to him, his hustle is game-changing at times..When I see a loose ball and him around I just know he is jumping on it with everything he's got, not many players are willing or able to do this.
I watched the last 5 minutes of the 4th and OT this morning and the sequence of events were amazing. The Rockets were dead in the water, missing everything while the Wolves would not stop hitting. Then finally the script flipped. The Wolves played scared and to protect the lead and most importantly DUMB. From the coach to the players there is no reason the Rockets should have won that game. They made SO MANY mistakes. I mean even in a pickup game I understand the concept of no threes, 2s can't hurt us. Dumb things like running the offense (and turning it over) when your team is up 6 with 45 seconds. Run the clock down and win the game. The Warriors have a few, but they also have some epic collapses as well.
Harden looked up at the clock after they failed to convert on a play out of a time out with a look like he believed they could come back. He was calm, but he knew time was not on their side. Everyone thought the game was over at that point. Then he knocked down the first 3 to get things started.
You know, my favorite part of those highlights is watching the reaction from Thibs and the MN bench on each made 3 by the Rockets. Does that make me sadistic?
That's my big beef* with the media right now. They keep talking about how the Wolves collapsed, not how the Rockets offense puts pressure on teams to do just that. Sure, the Wolves are young, and certainly a veteran team would have been able to withstand the pressure and not succumb to an historically awful collapse -- right, Clippers? * BTW, "My Big Beef" will be the title of my pornstar autobiography.
Beverley is really playing like an All Star! I wasn't so high on him going into this season but he's really doing so many of the small things that are so important.
