In the first half, the game was competitive. By halftime, the score was 55-51 with the Rockets holding a slight lead. Not so bad, only a four-point deficit at the half. Most of the time, that can be overcome with a few changes at the intermission, unless a certain someone on the other team erupts.
That someone certainly did catch fire. It was none other than the man in the race for MVP, James Harden. In the 3rd quarter alone, he scored 20 of his 33 points. From that point on, the Grizzlies couldn’t seem to make any significant push to catch up.