National Basketball Association

3 Takeaways From Thunder-Rockets

Published Aug. 29, 2020 9:33 p.m. ET

One more win and the Houston Rockets will be headed to the Western Conference semifinals.

The Rockets dominated Game 5 against the Oklahoma City Thunder, winning 114-80 to take a 3-2 series lead.

Here are the key takeaways from this Western Conference first round matchup.

1. The Return of Russ

After missing the first four games of the series, All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook finally made his series debut in Game 5 for the Rockets.

Westbrook was on a strict minutes restriction and struggled in his return to action, shooting 3-for-13 from the field and only scoring 7 points.

The Brodie did find other ways to impact the game however, recording 7 assists and 6 rebounds. And after the game, he talked about the impact he hopes to have off the floor.

2. Rockets exploit Lu Dort

Through four games, one of the key revelations of this series had been the defensive play of Thunder rookie forward Luguentz Dort, who has made a habit of frustrating NBA scoring champion James Harden.

But in Game 5, the Rockets flipped the script, choosing to make Dort a scorer.

In short, it didn't go well for Dort and Oklahoma City.

Dort shot 3-for-16 for the game and 0-for-9 from behind the three-point line.

The Rockets were content in letting Dort shoot, often leaving him wide open while hedging over on Chris Paul, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari and others.

Coming into the game, Dort was shooting 30% from the field and 19.4% from three-point range.

3. Things get testy

While the Rockets cruised to a relatively easy win, it wasn't without a bit of drama.

Houston center P.J. Tucker was ejected in the third quarter, along with Thunder backup point guard Dennis Schroder, after the two got into an altercation after Tucker was called for a foul while setting a screen on Schroder.

Tucker was ejected for headbutting Schroder, after Schroder apparently hit Tucker with a low blow, also earning himself an ejection.

The ejections hit OKC significantly harder on Saturday, considering Schroder had already scored 18 points in the quarter.