The Houston Rockets defeated the Dallas Mavericks 103-94 in Game 5 to win their best-of-seven series in a "gentleman's sweep" on Tuesday. ("You give 'em one, you know, to be polite.")
Here's a look at how the Rockets advanced to just their second second-round appearance in 18 years.
1. THAT'S WHY YOU HAVE AN MVP: The best thing about having a guy like James Harden (28 points, eight assists, 9-of-19 shooting) is for games like this. When both teams are struggling and you're nursing a lead, when the opponent makes a run your guy can quiet it. Harden constantly hit big shots to boost the Rockets' lead back up whenever Dallas would challenge.
Harden's shooting line and six turnovers don't tell how good he was. And more than that, you need your best player to perform well within the context of the game, within the framework of the game. Tim Duncan was a master of this in the early 00's when the Spurs were a brutal sledgehammer fight game by game. He would have great games, but within the context of those battles. Similar performance from Harden.
The Rockets are moving on because of their defense, because of their superior speed, strength, and shooting ability, but also in large part because when they needed a boost to keep them ahead, the Beard always delivered.
2. NO HOME-RUN HITTERS: The Mavericks have this high-powered offense. That's how they made the playoffs, because their defense was bad. But what was always interesting is the biggest test of modern efficiency, the 3-point ball, was always absent. The Mavericks' system and personnel just never really produced great 3-point shooting. And long 2's off the dribble are really hard to sustain. That was a problem for Dallas in this game and in this series.
They needed home-run hitters, but shot 5-of-26 from the arc. Without those shots to gain ground quickly when you're in a deficit, you can't keep up. The Mavericks would take three possessions to create six points. The Rockets would take two. The Mavericks could score in bunches but in the playoffs where every possession is crucial, if you can't get to the rim (and they lost Chandler Parsons, their best driving scorer outside of Monta Ellis), and you can't hit 3's, you're in trouble.
Dallas needed to defend better, but that was never something it could do. If the Mavs were going to win, they needed home runs. That wasn't happening.
3. DWIGHT STRONGEST HULK THERE IS: Like I said, the Rockets were bigger, stronger and faster than Dallas. Hard to overcome.
