Harden Scores 45, Keeps Rockets’ Hopes Alive

James Harden stuffed the stat sheet and carried the Houston Rockets to a 115-128 victory over the Golden State Warriors in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals. He ended the night with a game-high 45 points (7-11, from 3-pt range), nine rebounds, five assists, two steals, and two blocks. The Rockets were able to avoid elimination from the Playoffs, but they will need to pull more rabbits out of their hats if they expect to move on to the NBA Finals. No team in NBA history has ever come back from being down 0-3 to take a Playoff series.

Houston came out of the gates with aggression as they kicked their offense into high gear as early as the first quarter. However, as expected, the Warriors would come roaring back in the second period. The Rockets would end up leading the Warriors, 59-69 at the half.

Both Warriors fans and management got a scare when their star point guard, Stephen Curry, took a nasty spill in the first half.

Thankfully, it was nothing serious and Curry returned to the game after passing the league concussion protocol. He did, however, end up with a contusion on his head.

“It was all minor stuff compared to how it looked,” Curry said.

Both Curry and his backcourt partner-in-crime, Klay Thompson each knocked down 6-of-13 shots from downtown. Thompson finished the night with 24 points, while Curry added 23. Draymond Green did an excellent job as well, ending up with a double-double, scoring 21 points and pulling down 15 rebounds. Unfortunately for Golden State, the combined efforts of their all-star trio was not enough to put away the Rockets.

The Rockets now live to fight another day and fight is what they will need to bring to Golden State as the Warriors hope to wrap up the series in Game 5.