Unbeliavable effort to bring us back to the game late in the third. Big time!! Really liked his attitude, looking like a man against elite competition.
His points in the 3rd wer HUGE Rockets had that look on their faces and Jones started, especially on the loose ball to force the jump, dude finally played his game
Who would have thought that a guy who always looks like a deer in the headlights in the playoffs, would essentially start the comeback that saves our season. Got to love the playoffs!
In all honesty, his play at the end of the 3rd is what sparked everything. It saved our season. We were dead in the water and he took that 19 point lead down to 10 and let the Clippers know that the game wasn't over just yet. Everybody in LA was ready to celebrate, but when that lead was cut, you could see them get tight and start playing not to lose instead of playing to win. It also gave the rest of the team hope and they came out with so much fight and intensity in the 4th. Give McHale props too. Everybody is talking about him sticking with the squad on the floor and not bringing back Harden, but I was shaking my head when he took Jones out and put Smith in. It didn't seem to make sense because Jones was balling and playing with high energy, but that proved to be the 100% correct decision.
Jones came alive in the 3rd. Nailed a big 3 along with Ariza later on in the 4th quarter. After that Redick 3 that brought it back to 12, Brewer came alive, then Smith took over. Howard hit some FTs early as well that helped cut the lead down from the Clippers. The thing that I'm most impressed with is after tying them, they never let down. Brewer's 3 to take the lead was huge and Terry hit a nice jumper. Smith's 3 then tore the hearts from the Clipper fans and the defense was exceptional. Don't discount what McHale did too. Putting Harden in when Paul got fouled was a great move, except they did the "loose ball foul" off the made FT crap that seemed like another shady loophole. The idea was to allow Harden to waste time off the clock or force them to foul Harden. Taking him out for Dwight when Smith shot FTs may seem to be obvious, but with the moment going on, it was a level-headed move. Mistakes aside throughout the early quarters, the team and coaching did everything right in the last 15-16 minutes of the game. Well played, Rockets!
There were times in the fourth quarter when I thought it was over, but this team was so resilient.. I almost couldnt believe it!! A game to remember
Tjones got that steal on their inbounds... too bad we didn't convert... but as mentioned, key plays. Made that 3 when we certainly needed anything we could get...
I told my friend that if we got it down to 10 by the end of the 3rd we could steal the game. Well.. I didn't say anything about keeping it at 10 haha. Thank you, Terrence.