Rockets Eliminate CP3, Thunder in Wild Game Seven

James Harden shot four for 15 from the field. Russell Westbrook shot nine for 20. Chris Paul finished with another playoff triple-double but all of those didn't matter. Both teams knew that their season is at stake and so is a date with LeBron James and the mighty Los Angeles Lakers. As Jinno Rufino predicted, this series could go either team's way if this reaches a Game Seven.

It did reach a Game Seven. Considering how wild the finish was, it could have gone either way.

This time, it went James Harden's way as his block on Luguentz Dort's three-pointer helped the Houston Rockets escape with a 104-102 victory against the Oklahoma City Thunder- taking the first-round series of the National Basketball Association (NBA) playoffs and a seat in the West semifinals against LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and the rest of the Lakers.

What made this win by Houston surprising is the fact that they weren't hitting the shots they usually make as Harden and Westbrook combined for 13 for 35 field goal shooting as Westbrook finished with 20 points with Harden adding 17 points. Eric Gordon led the way for Mike D' Antoni's wards with 21 points on five for nine three-point shooting. Robert Covington also had 21 points while also finishing with 10 rebounds and three blocks. Jeff Green came off the bench to finish with 13 points. Houston won despite shooting 39% from the field including 34% from downtown. The Rockets only turned the ball over 12 times but the Thunder scored 28 points from the Houston miscues. In the end, it came down to execution. The Rockets aren't known as a defensive team and yet, they won it on the defensive end.

Luguentz Dort had 30 points for OKC- the most points scored by an undrafted rookie in a Game Seven. Chris Paul finished the season with 19 points, 12 assists, and 11 rebounds in 40 minutes while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander also finished with 19 points. Despite not making it to the next round, this has been the best finish OKC had in the playoffs since they last reached the Western Conference Finals in 2016.

Game One between the Lakers and the Rockets is set on Saturday (Manila time) and Houston will face a Lakers team that they have beaten twice this season. 

Photo is from CBS Sports