Notes for Game 4: Rockets vs LA Lakers - Western Conference Semifinals of 2020 NBA Playoffs

Posted: September 10, 2020 -- 10:35 a.m. CT

Game 4 of the best-of-7 second round series between the Houston Rockets and the Los Angeles Lakers tips off Thursday night at 6 p.m. Central Time on TNT. The Lakers lead the series 2-1

Playoff Series Stats and Notes
• The Rockets trail this series 2-1… Houston has trailed a series 2-1 three times under head coach Mike D'Antoni (going back to 2017) and has won Game 4 all three times but did not go onto win any of those series (lost 2017 Conference Semifinals to San Antonio in six games; lost 2018 Conference Finals to Golden State in seven games; lost 2019 Conference Semifinals to Golden State in six games).
• The Rockets have lost two consecutive playoff games. Houston has not lost 3 straight playoff games under Head Coach Mike D'Antoni.
• The Lakers have shot 55.0% or better from the floor in each of the last 2 games.
• The Rockets lost Games 2 and 3 despite shooting 40.0% or better from 3 in both games.
• The Lakers outrebounded the Rockets by 13 in Game 3, marking Houston's third time being outrebounded by 10+ this postseason.
• The Lakers have recorded 25+ assists in each of the past two games (27.5 assists per game) after opponents did not have more than 24 assists over the first eight games this postseason (17.9 assists per game)… Houston was 20-20 when opponents had 25+ assists during the regular season.
• The Lakers are averaging 55.0 points in the paint over the past two games and have 38 more PIP than Houston over that span
• The Rockets bench is being outscored 116-46 this series and by an average of 10.1 points per game overall this postseason.
• Since having 20 fast break points in Game 6 in the First Round vs. OKC, Houston hasn't recorded more than 9 in any of the past four games.
• The Lakers have scored a total of 48 fast break points in the three games this series (16.0 per) after Houston only allowed a total of 42 in the seven games during its First Round series vs. OKC.
• The Rockets have scored 50+ first half points in nine of the 10 games this postseason but have only scored 50+ second half points five times, including once over the past five games.

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Here are some quick player-based statistical notes from the Rockets postseason:

Player Playoff Notes
• James Harden is averaging 30.4 points per game, 7.7 assists per game and 5.7 rpg this postseason… since joining Houston in 2012-13, he is averaging 28.5 points per game, 7.1 assists per game and 5.7 rpg… Harden and Russell Westbrook are two of seven players in NBA playoff history with 100+ playoff games to have averaged at least 23.0 points per game, 5.0 assists per game and 5.0 rpg.
• James Harden has scored 30+ points in six of the past eight games and seven times overall this postseason… he has the second-most 30-point playoff games (28) of any player dating back to the 2017 playoffs (Mike D’Antoni’s first postseason with Houston)… Harden has scored 20+ points in 69 of his 83 playoff games as a Rocket, including 30+ 40 times (30+ 41 times in his playoff career).
• James Harden is shooting 48.2% this postseason and has shot 50.0% or better in five of the 10 games after doing so a total of seven times in 44 over the previous four postseasons (2016-2019)… the Rockets were 21-5 when Harden shot 50.0% or better in 2019-20… he shot 41.2% from the floor in his first seven postseasons as a Rocket.
• James Harden has an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.26 this postseason, up from 1.66 during the regular season and 1.43 in the 2019 playoffs.
• Russell Westbrook missed the first four games this postseason with a right quad strain but has played the past six, averaging 18.0 points per game,8.2 rpg and 4.7 assists per game… including the playoffs, Houston is 10-9 in games he has missed … Westbrook joins LeBron James as the only players in NBA playoff history with more than 25 games played to have averaged at least 25.0 points per game, 7.0 rpg and 7.0 assists per game.
• Russell Westbrook is averaging 9.8 rebounds over the past four games and a team-best 8.2 rpg overall this postseason… he was second on the team in rebounding during the regular season (7.9 rpg)… Westbrook averaged 10.9 rpg over the previous three postseasons with OKC (2016-2019).
• Eric Gordon scored 10 points in Game 3 after scoring 20+ in a playoff career-high three straight games prior… he has scored 20+ points six times this postseason after doing so six times in 36 games played during the regular season… Gordon is averaging 18.4 points per game this postseason (17.8 in 2019 playoffs)… he averaged 16.6 points per game in the 21 wins he appeared in this season compared to 11.5 points per game in the 15 losses he played in.
• Eric Gordon has scored 18+ points in seven of the 10 games this postseason... after scoring a career-high 50 points at Utah on 1/27, he did not have more than 17 points the rest of the regular season (11.6 points per game in 17 games played over that span).
• Eric Gordon is averaging 4.0 threes made per game on 45.7% shooting over the past four games after having a total of 8 threes made per game on 18.6% shooting the first six games this postseason… he shot 40.0% from behind-the-arc in the 2019 playoffs…. Gordon has the fourth-most threes made per game (132) of any player in the playoffs since joining Houston in 2016-17.
• P.J. Tucker had a playoff low 3 field goal attempts in 38 minutes of play in Game 3… over the past three regular seasons for Houston, he played 30+ minutes (rounded) with 3 or fewer field goal attempts 30 times; no other player had more than five games doing so over that span... Tucker has scored 10+ points four times this postseason and in 18 of his 38 playoff games as a Rocket compared to doing so in 58 of his 236 regular season games with Houston.
• P.J. Tucker has played 353 minutes without a single free throw attempt this postseason… Danny Ferry (334 minutes in 13 games for San Antonio in 2001) is the only player in NBA playoff history to have played 300+ minutes in a single postseason without a free throw attempt… Tucker had 48 free throw attempts in 2,467 minutes played during the regular season and was the first player in league history with 2,400+ minutes played and fewer than 50 free throw attempts.
• Robert Covington is averaging 12.6 points on 51.2% shooting (50.8% FGs) this postseason… he averaged 8.1 points per game on 32.5% shooting (31.3% 3FGs) in his only other playoff appearance for Philly in 2018… Covington has hit 2+ threes made per game in each of the past seven games and eight times overall this postseason… he hit 2+ threes made per game in 13 of his 22 games played as a Rocket during the regular season.
• Robert Covington has 26 steals and 13 blocks in the 10 games this postseason… dating back to 1983-84, it is the fifth time a player has recorded at least 26 steals and 13 blocks through the first 10 games of a postseason (Ben Wallace twice, Kawhi Leonard once, Scottie Pippen once)… during the regular season, Covington was one of three players who averaged at least 1.50 steals per game and 1.00 steals per game and he ranked 10th in the NBA with 1.64 steals per game.
• Jeff Green had 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting in Game 3 after scoring a total of 7 points on 3-of-7 shooting the first two games this series… he averaged 13.4 points per game on 50.7% shooting in the First Round vs. OKC…

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