Patrick Beverley of the Rockets injured Russell Westbrook in Game 2 of Houston's first round series with the Oklahoma City Thunder when he ran into Westbrook's knee as he slowed down to call a timeout. Because of this, James Harden's play against his former team has been overshadowed by an overflow of venom toward Beverley.
He was booed lustily Wednesday night, his first in Oklahoma City since knocking Westbrook out of the playoffs, and even picked up a technical foul for throwing an elbow at Thunder point guard Reggie Jackson who ran into him as he was calling a timeout. Jackson's message was clear but so was Beverley's; he was not backing down. Beverley finished the game with 14 points and eight rebounds, and the Rockets took Game 5 by a score of 107-100.
"My teammates told me to come out here and stay aggressive. This is a family unit with this team," Beverley said. "I tried to not hear the boos and tried to go out and stay focused on the game plan today."
James Harden lit up the court in front of familiar faces, dropping 31 points and drilling 7-of-9 from 3-point land. The confident Rockets played with swagger and it all started with Harden.
"We just came out here and played pressure-free. Go out there and just hoop, that was our mindset going into the game," Harden said. "The same thing back at home: Just go out there and hoop. We're an eighth seed. Nobody's expecting us to win. So just give it what we've got. Simple."
Kevin Durant put the Thunder on his back for most of the night, scoring 36 points on 11-of-23 shooting, but he was a paltry 1-of-8 from 3-point range and his teammates were unable to knock down many of the looks he provided them. Kevin Martin, Oklahoma City's top scorer off the bench was a dreadful 1-of-9 from the field and only added four points.
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