Russell Westbrook did not go gentle into that good night, and try as he might to rage against the dying of the light, the Rockets took flight and ended his fight.
Now that we've tipped our caps to Dylan Thomas, let's get back to the NBA playoffs. James Harden and the Rockets kicked off Tuesday night's slate of games by eliminating the Thunder in a 105-99 win. (Thanks to Russ for making the 2016-17 season a ton of fun.) As for the other series, the Spurs and Jazz both gained 3-2 leads in key Game 5 matchups. The Jazz will travel back home to Utah for Game 6 while the Spurs head to Memphis in the hopes of closing things out and meeting Houston in the second round.
Let's take a look at what happened in each playoff game, along with the turning points and X-factors that helped shape the final scores.
NBA playoffs: Scores, highlights
Rockets 105, Thunder 99
OKC was outscored 27-9 in the six minutes Westbrook sat in Game 5. For the entire series, the Thunder finished plus-15 with Westbrook on the floor and minus-58 when he sat. Yes, the offense dropped significantly without a singular driving force like Westbrook available, but as ESPN's Tom Haberstroh pointed out prior to Game 5, the defense was even worse. Donovan didn't stagger Steven Adams' minutes and separate him from Westbrook this series, and the Thunder's defensive efficiency plummeted as a result.
Spurs 116, Grizzlies 103
Jazz 96, Clippers 92
Both teams struggled offensively, but for different reasons. The Jazz created good scoring chances yet couldn't get open shots to fall consistently. The Clippers looked completely out of sync at times and relied far too much on isolations and contested jumpers. You could even hear Doc Rivers on the game broadcast imploring his guards to drive to put stress on the defense. Chris Paul and J.J. Redick played well, but there wasn't much else to be excited about if you're a Clippers fan.
"Iso Joe" is a bad, bad man.
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