Tuesday 7 May 2019 11:26, UK
James Harden said the Rockets will 'keep fighting' after he fired for 38 points as the Houston levelled their Western Conference semi-final series with the Golden State Warriors at two games apiece.
Harden connected on 13 of his 29 shots, including 6-of-17 from three-point range, as the Rockets resisted a late Warriors rally to record a 112-108 Game 4 win. He added 10 rebounds, four assists and a pair of blocks and made six of his eight free throws.
Houston used a barrage of treys to surge into a double-digit lead in the second quarter, starting with a Harden 26-footer at the 7:12 mark that pushed the Rockets to a 39-37 lead.
With 5:33 left in the first half, Harden teased Klay Thompson on the perimeter before connecting with a trademark step-back triple over the Warriors guard while drawing a foul to set up a potential four-point play.
Harden scored 20 points in the second half. including two vital baskets in the final six minutes of the fourth quarter as the Rockets successfully resisted a late Warriors surge. Although he missed one of two free throws with 11.5 seconds left, Chris Paul was able to make a free throw with 2.9 seconds remaining that iced the game and tied the series.
Speaking immediately after the game, Harden said: "Our motto was 'keep fighting'. We know how tough they are. We had to stay in 'attack mode' and be aggressive. We just kept fighting fo four quarters.
"There are a lot of people who have 'got game' in this series. It's every possession, too. If we take a couple of possessions off defensively, they make us pay with lay-ups and threes and vice versa. Now (at 2-2), it's best two out of three. We've got to take a win in Game 5."
Click the video at the top of the page to watch Harden connect with a trademark step-back three in the Rockets' Game 4 win.
Game 5 takes place in Oakland in the early hours of Thursday morning (3:30am).
