The James Harden Houston Rockets and Chris Paul’s Oklahoma City Thunder is one of the most anticipated matchups of the Playoffs. However, the Rockets could take care of their first two games with ease.
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In Game 3, both teams went neck-to-neck, and the game was tied when regulation time ran out. But during overtime, the Thunder outscored the Rockets 15-3. As a result, OKC finally won a game in the series with a 119-107 score in what was an exemplary example of team effort.
Chris Paul was called for an offensive foul on Ben McLemore during overtime. The game was nearly over as the Thunder was already up by 11 with only 1:20 seconds left. But the Rockets’ head coach Mike D’Antoni challenged the call and wanted a flagrant foul.
Should the Houston Rockets be worried?
The refs didn’t overturn their call. In fact, D’Antoni was given a technical foul after this sequence. Further, James Harden couldn’t will his team to victory as he was fouled out in overtime. James Harden mentioned his thoughts on officiating in his post-game comments.
“I saw what happened. Any time that happens, it should be reviewed, especially when it’s not around a lot of people. I know I’ve done that, and it got reviewed before. That’s all we were asking for… was a review.
“I don’t know what it was, but it should have been reviewed. Especially if somebody gets hit in their private area. We ain’t got anywhere to go, so it should have been reviewed. It wasn’t, and I don’t know why not,” he concluded.
D’Antoni also shared his views on the situation. He said:
“I don’t know. Who knows? I just asked the referee to just go over and review it. He might’ve been right. I wasn’t clear, but I know my guy got hit in a bad place with an elbow, so go look at it. And if you’re right, you’re right. So be it. But it’s not like in the Bubble… there must be entertainment going on somewhere, because what else do we have to do? Let’s just go over and look at it, and come back and play basketball.”
James Harden on the CP3/McLemore foul: "It should have been reviewed. Especially if somebody gets hit in their private area. We ain’t got anywhere to go."
Mike D'Antoni: "There must be entertainment going on somewhere, because what else do we have to do?"https://t.co/gWeXxlt47D
— Ben DuBose (@BenDuBose) August 23, 2020
Rockets still hold a 2-1 lead over the Thunder and can move into the next round in just two more games. If Russell Westbrook returns in the game 4, the Rockets will become a problem for the Thunder.
