Any amount of confidence the Minnesota Timberwolves was able to take with them following a 121-105 win in Game 3 of their first-round series with the Houston Rockets, James Harden and company mercilessly snuffed this Monday, particularly during the third quarter of Game 4.
The Rockets put Minnesota’s defense in a dumpster and set it on fire with a mind-bending 50-point explosion in the third quarter. Houston’s scorching offense in that period was led by no other than James Harden, who began the game going 0-for-7 from the floor in the first quarter before mopping the floor of Target Center using the defense of Minnesota.
In the said quarter, James pumped in a total of 22 points, setting a new playoffs record for the Rockets, per ESPN Stats & Info. Chris Paul also had 15 points in the third.
James Harden and Chris Paul combined for 37 points in the 3rd quarter, the most points they've combined for in any quarter as teammates.
Harden scored 22 of those points, a Rockets postseason record for points in a quarter. pic.twitter.com/lFEGD8zU6g
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) April 24, 2018
To summarize, James Harden went 7-for-10 from the field in the third frame. There simply was barely anything Minnesota could do to slow Harden down. Once he found his groove, Harden relentlessly attacked his Timberwolves defenders to help Minnesota transform a one-point lead at halftime to a 31-point advantage at the end of the third quarter.
Overall, Harden finished the game with 36 points on 12-for-26 shooting from the field with four rebounds and three assists, while the Rockets shot 43.5 percent in a convincing 119-100 win to go up 3-1 in the series.
Harden and the Rockets can close out the series and move on to the second round this Wednesday, as they host Minnesota for Game 5 of the series.
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