Houston Rockets superstar James Harden remained pretty upbeat despite suffering a 117-09 defeat at the hands of the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 2 on Sunday.
According to Harden, he believes that the Rockets came out with a commendable effort.
“We matched their intensity,” Harden said in his post-game presser, via AT&T SportsNet SW. “They came out aggressive and I think we still did a pretty good job when we've been down… We gave them that run which got them up 20-something points. And against any team, no matter what team it is in this league, it's just tough to come back down 20-something points, but we did. We gave ourselves a chance so you take away that and it's a pretty good game.”
The Lakers came out firing out of the gates in the showdown, outscoring the Rockets 36-20 in the first period. The lead ballooned to up to 21 points in the second period, but Houston came storming back.
As James Harden noted, they matched LA's intensity in the third quarter, putting up 41 points on the board against the Lakers' 23.
Houston was even able to take the lead in the third, and to come back from more than 20 points in the playoffs — against a team like the Lakers no less — speaks volumes of their tremendous effort. LA stepped up in the fourth though, as they secured a crucial Game 2 victory against the Rockets to tie this series at one game apiece.
Needless to say, the winners of Tuesday's Game 3 contest will have a huge advantage in the series moving forward.
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