National Basketball Association

3 Takeaways From OKC-HOU – G2

Updated Aug. 21, 2020 11:29 a.m. ET

The Houston Rockets relied on players not named James Harden en route to a 111-98 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 2 of their first round matchup on Thursday, taking a 2-0 lead in the process.

Here are 3 Takeaways from Game 2 of this Western Conference first round matchup.

1. Houston's others pick up the slack

The Rockets' MVP candidate James Harden struggled to find his stroke in Game 2, after a dominant 37-point outing in Game 1.

Harden was 2-for-12 from the field entering the fourth quarter, but shockingly, it didn't spell doom for the Rockets, with Houston's supporting cast picking up the slack.

Six Rockets players not named Harden scored in double figures, led by Danuel House Jr.'s 19 points.

Eric Gordon and Jeff Green both pitched in with 15 points, and P.J. Tucker chipped in with 14.

Harden still managed to score 21 points, 11 of which he scored in the fourth quarter.

2. Houston's defense steps up

Yep – on Thursday, this Mike D'Antoni team made defense a priority.

In the first half of Game 2, the Rockets surrendered 59 points to the Thunder and found themselves trailing by 6 at half.

However, Houston flipped the script in the second half, holding the Thunder to 39 points – 19 in the third and 20 in the fourth – on 13-for-32 shooting,

The Thunder only recorded 15 assists as a team, well below their regular season average of 22 assists per game.

3. The ultimate equalizer

Defense isn't what the Rockets are known for. They're known for their unabashed willingness to shoot the three.

And on Thursday, shoot the three is exactly what Houston did.

While the Rockets only shot 41.8% from the field as a team and shot less free throws than the Thunder, they were able to ride a record breaking three-point effort to victory.

The Rockets attempted an NBA playoff record 56 three-pointers, breaking their previous record of 52. They connected on 19 – compared to 11 for OKC – and Houston is 5-0 in the playoffs when attempting 50 threes or more.

Thursday continued a trend that started on Tuesday, when Houston made 20 threes in Game 1, while OKC only connected on 13.