IN THE SECOND half of Game 7 of the Houston Rockets' first-round playoff series against the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2020, NBA analyst Mark Jackson and his broadcast partner Mark Jones couldn't believe what they were watching.
All night they'd been watching the NBA's leading scorer, James Harden, battle Luguentz Dort, who until then was an unknown Thunder rookie. And Harden was miserable. Everywhere he went, Dort followed him.
With 2:55 remaining in the third quarter, Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni called a play, hoping to get Harden some air.