LOS ANGELES — James Harden paired a game-high 38 points with 10 rebounds while Eric Gordon and P.J. Tucker provided ample support as the Houston Rockets squared their Western Conference semifinal series against the visiting Golden State Warriors with a 112-108 victory in Game 4 on Monday.
The best-of-seven series is tied at two games apiece ahead of Game 5 on Wednesday in Oakland, Calif.
Gordon chipped in 20 points, and Tucker finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
While Houston shot just 17 of 50 from behind the arc, the volume of 3-pointers made a significant difference. The Warriors wound up just eight of 33 from deep, including misses from Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry in the waning moments with the Rockets leading by three after Harden missed the second of two free throws.
Chris Paul (13 points) sank one of two foul shots with 2.9 seconds to go, sealing the Rockets’ win.
Houston led by as many as 17 points, claimed a 50-43 rebounding edge and allowed just 11 second-chance points.
Durant led the Warriors with 34 points while Curry chipped in 30. However, Curry missed 10 of 14 3-point attempts while Klay Thompson continued his shooting woes, going five of 15 overall and one of six from deep. Draymond Green produced 15 points, 10 boards and five assists for the Warriors.
Houston used another barrage of treys to surge to a double-digit lead in the second quarter, starting with a Harden 26-footer at the 7:12 mark that pushed the Rockets to a 39-37 lead. Harden and Iman Shumpert added 3-pointers in succession before Gordon completed a three-point play and Austin Rivers drained a trey that capped a 20-6 run from the Rockets.
The Warriors fashioned a rally, and when Andre Iguodala drilled a 3-pointer just prior to the first-half buzzer, the Rockets led 61-54 at the intermission.
When Houston threatened to run away in the third quarter following successive threes from Harden, Tucker and Harden again, the Warriors trailed 77-60 only to respond with a 22-9 push that cut the margin to 86-82 on a Curry layup.
From that point, the Rockets managed a reply whenever Golden State pulled close, including critical baskets from Harden and Paul after the Warriors surged down the stretch in the fourth quarter.
BUCKS BUILD 3-1 SERIES EDGE ON CELTICS
George Hill scored nine points during Milwaukee’s game-turning third quarter run — one generated with likely NBA Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo on the bench due to foul trouble — and the Bucks took a commanding lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals by beating the host Boston Celtics 113-101 on Monday night.
The Bucks now lead the best-of-seven series three games to one. Milwaukee will look to cement its first trip to the conference finals since 2001 on Wednesday when it hosts Game 5.
The Celtics will try to become just the 12th team in NBA history to come back from a 3-1 deficit in a best-of-seven set and the first since the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Golden State Warriors in the 2016 NBA Finals.
The Bucks were clinging to a 59-58 lead when Antetokounmpo went to the bench after drawing his fourth foul with 8:18 left in the third quarter. A Marcus Morris free throw following the foul tied the game, and the Celtics took the lead at 62-59 on a 3-pointer by Al Horford.
Boston kept the Bucks at bay for the next few minutes before Ersan Ilyasova’s put-back tied the game at 67-67 with 3:54 left. That began a quarter-ending 15-5 run for the Bucks, who took the lead for good on Hill’s layup 29 seconds after Ilyasova’s basket.
Kylie Irving drained a free throw to cut the gap to one, but the Bucks scored the next nine points — a run Hill began with a 3-pointer and ended with a bank shot — to extend Milwaukee’s lead to double digits for the first time.
Antetokounmpo returned for the fourth quarter and scored 17 of his game-high 39 points as the Bucks put the Celtics away. “The Greek Freak” also finished with 16 rebounds and four assists despite playing just 34 minutes.
Hill scored 15 points while Khris Middleton and Eric Bledsoe each had 13 points for the Bucks. Pat Connaughton added nine points and 10 rebounds.
Morris (18 points, 14 rebounds), Jayson Tatum (17 points, 10 rebounds) and Kyrie Irving (23 points, 10 assists) all had double-doubles for the Celtics, who led by as many as 11 points in the first quarter. Horford scored 20 points while Jaylen Brown added 16 points for Boston. — Reuters
