If anyone thought the San Antonio Spurs were done if Kawhi Leonard wasn't there, they were wrong on Tuesday night. The Spurs' superstar went down with an ankle injury in the second half, but Danny Green and others picked up the slack. Green scored 7 of his 16 total points in overtime, avoiding the loss of Kawhi Leonard and game 5. James Harden contributed 33 points, ten assists, and ten rebounds in the loss.
Leonard injury
Kawhi Leonard was doing whatever he wanted before getting hurt. He had a stat line of 22 points and 15 rebounds through 38 minutes of action.
Leonard stepped on James Harden's foot midway through the third quarter, tried to play on it, then would eventually exit the game.
For San Antonio, this is a very scary situation to happen, but on the bright side, having Danny Green step up like this is big for the Spurs moving forward. Giving him the personal confidence that he can succeed in this series could pay off a lot down the road in game 6 or game 7. It would be a surprise if Kawhi missed any time in this series, but his ankle could be tough to put all his power on. The Rockets have to capitalize this in game 6.
Houston Rockets didn't have it
James Harden did all he could to try and carry this team to a game five win, but it just wasn't enough.
He had a shot at the end of overtime to try and tie it but was blocked from behind by Manu Ginobli. The Rockets tried something a bit different by starting Eric Gordon in place of Ryan Anderson. Gordon didn't have a lot of success, just scoring 11 points.
Anderson did contribute well off the bench with 19 points and seven rebounds.
Patrick Beverley had 20 points, but Ariza, Capela, and Lou Will just couldn't get anything going. They scored in the single digits.
A big reason for their loss is that they are getting beat on the boards. Obviously, the Spurs are bigger than them inside, but allowing 18 offensive rebounds just can't happen if the want to win a playoff game.
Looking ahead
The Spurs have a stronghold on the series now. The series heads back to Houston for game 6, and obviously a must-win for the Rockets. One main thing will be interesting to see in this game from Mike D'antoni. D'antoni started Eric Gordon in game 5, and while they lost the game, their numbers weren't that bad as a group.
We'll get to see if he goes back to that or if he tries to get Anderson back in there to get a bit of rebounding help inside. The Rockets may be better off trying to get Anderson back into the starting lineup. Gordon played 11 more minutes than Anderson and those minutes could have been more productive if Ryan was in there.
