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21	August 2018

Rolling with the punches has become so

Though James Harden and most of the Houston Rockets were misfiring throughout the first half Authentic Yonder Alonso Jersey , their confidence never wavered.

In the third quarter, those sharpshooters sure came to life.

Harden had 22 of the team�s near-record 50 points in the third, launching the Rockets past the Minnesota Timberwolves 119-100 on Monday night to take a 3-1 lead in their first-round playoff series.

�We had the mentality to be aggressive, make or missed shots,� said Harden, who went 7 for 10 in the third quarter and finished with 36 points. �That�s what we do. We shoot the basketball, and eventually they�ll start falling.�

Chris Paul scored 15 of his 25 points in the near-record third for the Rockets, who still had a 50-49 halftime edge despite their rough start. With those torrid 12 minutes, they built a 31-point lead and were up 104-69 about a minute into the fourth. The only team in the history of the NBA playoffs with more points in one quarter was the Los Angeles Lakers, who scored 51 points in the fourth on March 31, 1962, in a loss to the Detroit Pistons.

�It was a good time to do it. We�ve been talking about it for two years, putting the 50-piece up,� Rockets coach Mike D�Antoni said. �And that starts with the intensity and the right spirit and everything.�

Clint Capela added 14 points and 17 rebounds, Eric Gordon finally got going with 18 points off the bench and the Rockets left the Wolves wondering what hit them after 3 1/2 games of decent defense against one of the league�s most dangerous offensive teams. The Rockets scored on 11 straight possessions after an opening stop by the Wolves Cheap Customized New York Giants Jerseys , and Harden alone scored 17 of their first 20 points.

�I�ve got to watch it again,� Paul said. �We just, I don�t know, got hot.�

Wolves star Jimmy Butler, on the other hand, began forcing off-balance shots. Teague and Paul, the two former Wake Forest point guards, engaged in some intense trash talk. Paul baited Teague into a pushing foul for a pair of add-to-the-pile free throws. Gordon tacked on another 3-pointer at the buzzer for the 100-69 lead.

�I think we came out a little flatter than last game. We didn�t come out right away with that straight grit in the third quarter,� said Karl-Anthony Towns, who had 22 points and 15 rebounds for the Timberwolves.

Minnesota missed 14 of 21 shots, producing several panicked possessions over the third. Perhaps that�s because they were so rattled by how suddenly and quickly the Rockets were scoring.

�We came out lackadaisical on both ends of the floor,� Butler said. �We didn�t take anything away from them. They got whatever shot that they wanted.�

The Timberwolves rebounded from their two defeats on the road by matching the Rockets with 15 makes from 3-point range in Game 3. They wisely took another tack for Game 4, attacking the basket in the first half with relentless abandon and plenty of success.

Derrick Rose, who finished with 17 points and six rebounds, was the catalyst off the bench with multiple muscle-his-way-in layups on both fast breaks and in the half court. Starting point guard Jeff Teague Steelers Game Jerseys , meanwhile, had only two points on 1-for-7 shooting while fighting through dislocated right pinky finger.

The Wolves were in front by as much a 36-29, but with as poorly as the Rockets were shooting they badly needed a larger lead than that. They went 21 for 44 from the field (47.7 percent) in the first half, but with all the layups and putbacks in the mix they easily could have made more.

Trevor Ariza made the first three 3-pointers attempted by the Rockets, who then missed on 13 of their next 14 tries from behind the arc. Harden didn�t make a basket until 5:57 remained in the second quarter, when his 10-foot floater fell in to cut Minnesota�s lead to 39-37. He swished one of his signature step-back 3-pointers on the next possession, and Houston was right back in front to sow the seeds for the staggering third quarter.

�Once we get going, it�s hard to stop us,� Capela said.

FULL CIRCLE

The last time the Timberwolves were in the first round of the playoffs in 2004, their opponent was Denver and Nene was a 21-year-old starter for the Nuggets. This is his 16th season in the NBA, the second with the Rockets.

TIP-INS

Rockets: Ariza finished with 15 points, after missing his last eight 3-pointers. � Harden is averaging 30.3 points in the series. He�s 38 for 91 from the floor (41.8 percent). � Capela is leading the league in the playoffs in rebounding, averaging 14 per game.

Timberwolves: Backup point guard Tyus Jones was available on an emergency-only basis because of a sore right knee. Rose played 33 minutes. � Butler (19 points) and Andrew Wiggins (14 points) combined to shoot 12 for 31 from the floor.

UP NEXT

The series shifts back south to Houston for Game 5 on Wednesday night.

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The sight of Evgeny Kuznetsov clutching his left arm and leaving the ice after a hit from Brayden McNabb isn�t as big a threat to the Washington Capitals� title hopes as it might seem.

Not after the Capitals withstood three games without Nicklas Backstrom. Not after they missed Kuznetsov for most of Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final and still beat the Vegas Golden Knights to tie the series.

They�d love to have their leading scorer in the lineup Saturday night in Washington, but with superstar captain Alex Ovechkin and several top players producing and filling the void, the Capitals are built to handle life without Kuznetsov if it comes to that.

�We�ve had some guys been out here and there these playoffs http://www.eaglesauthorizedshops.com/authentic-dallas-goedert-jersey ,� Backstrom said. �It�s hard to replace Kuznetsov the way he�s been playing, but if that�s the case it is what it is and we just have to have other guys step up.�

Coach Barry Trotz provided no update on Kuznetsov on Thursday other than to say the Russian center is day to day. The team practices again Friday.

It didn�t look very good for Kuznetsov when he went down the tunnel in the first period Wednesday night and didn�t return. But Ovechkin scored his first career Stanley Cup Final goal on the power play, and Lars Eller, bumped up the lineup to fill in for Kuznetsov, had a goal and two assists.

No one player can make up for the potential loss of Kuznetsov, who has 11 goals and 14 assists in 21 playoff games, though Washington�s depth down the middle looks solid with Backstrom, Eller, Jay Beagle and, if need be, Chandler Stephenson. Eller played a key role in two big victories against Tampa Bay in the Eastern Conference final without Backstrom, and will once again be one of the most important players on the ice if Kuznetsov isn�t healthy.

�Nick has gone out or Kuzy has been out, Lars has elevated his game and comes up in a more prominent role,� Trotz said. �I think he embraces the challenge. He takes the moments very seriously that he has to step up and try to find a way to produce, and he has. He�s a veteran player who has good hockey sense Adidas Clayton Keller Jersey , and he�s strong on the puck, and I think his game translates well in the playoffs.�

It doesn�t hurt that the Capitals can lean on Ovechkin in times of need, and they have received strong performances from top-six wingers Tom Wilson, T.J. Oshie and Jakub Vrana and defenseman John Carlson.

It�s the kind of production Vegas is looking for from its top line of Jonathan Marchessault, William Karlsson and Reilly Smith. Going on the road means coach Gerard Gallant can�t pick matchups, so he�s counting on his best players to play like it.

�I don�t care who they play against,� Gallant said. �We�re going to play well and work hard and compete hard. (Wednesday) night they didn�t have the offensive outburst they usually have. You�re not going to be at your best every night. I expect them to be really good for us like they have all season long.�

Gallant tipped his hat to the Capitals, saying they deserved to win Game 2 based on how they performed after losing Kuznetsov. It would be more difficult to sustain that effort and adrenaline for an entire game without him, though it�s a test they passed without Backstrom earlier in the playoffs.

�It�ll be a big loss, but as you saw in the Pittsburgh series when Nick went down, sometimes that kind of energizes some other guys to get in there and be able to make some plays,� Oshie said. �So we�ll roll with the punches.�

Rolling with the punches has become somewhat of the Capitals� identity this season and into the playoffs. They got some more in the form of a ground stop at the airport after they landed on Thursday as lightning kept them from getting off the plane.

Trotz considers it just another roadblock for his team to get over.

�Our guys are fine,� he said. �It�s another layer of adversity that we have to go through all the time.�

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