James Harden received an IV Tuesday afternoon, his answers to post-game questions were peppered with coughs and he sniffled repeatedly between queries.
Harden clearly wasn’t feeling well. But faced with elimination in the second round of the NBA play-offs, Houston’s bearded superstar shook off his illness and had a triple-double in perhaps his best play-off performance to keep the Rockets alive.
Harden had 26 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, Dwight Howard added 20 points and 15 rebounds, and the Rockets bounced back from two lopsided losses with a 124-103 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.
“I’m all right,” Harden said when asked about his health. “We won, so that’s all that matters.”
The Rockets hadn’t lost three straight all season, and with their season on the line they ended their skid to send it back to Los Angeles for Game 6 on Thursday night.
Houston used a 36-point second quarter to take a commanding lead and withstood a third-quarter surge by Los Angeles to lead by 14 entering the fourth.
Blake Griffin had 30 points and 16 rebounds, and Chris Paul added 22 points and 10 assists for the Clippers.
“They were more focused,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. “They played like they were the desperate team and we didn’t play very desperate.”
Harden made a three-pointer with about two minutes to play to make it 121-100 and coach Kevin McHale cleared the bench. Harden’s triple-double was Houston’s first in the post-season since Steve Francis in 2004.
Howard was impressed with Harden’s ability to play so well when he was under the weather.
“This is win or go home and I’m pretty sure he wants this as bad as we all do and he showed that tonight,” Howard said.
Trevor Ariza added 22 points for Houston and Corey Brewer had 15.
McHale toyed with the starting line-up after losses by 25 and 33 points, inserting Josh Smith in place of Terrence Jones. Smith finished with nine points and seven rebounds, while Jones provided a spark off the bench with 12 points.
“I just wanted to shake things up a bit and ... see if we could get more ball movement,” McHale said.
Houston were up by 14 with nine minutes left when Smith scored five quick points, capped by a three-pointer, to make it 99-80. Smith, who joined the Rockets after being released by the Pistons, held out three fingers on each hand before beating his chest as fans rose to their feet.
Howard managed just seven points and six rebounds in Game 4 after getting into early foul trouble. He had no such problems on Tuesday night and had eclipsed his numbers in that game in the first quarter. His work helped Houston outscore Los Angeles 64-46 in the paint.
The Clippers had cut the lead from 22 points to 13 late in the third quarter when Houston started intentionally fouling DeAndre Jordan. They did it twice and he missed three of four before the Clippers returned the favour on Howard.
The “Hack-A-Shaq” stretch wasn’t anywhere close to what it was in the last game when the Rockets did it time after time, giving Jordan 34 free throw attempts. He made just 14 of them on Sunday. Both teams also did it some in the fourth quarter on Tuesday, with Houston fouling Jordan and the Clippers doing it to Howard, Smith and Brewer.
Four quick points by Howard gave the Rockets a 22-point lead with about seven minutes left in the third quarter. Jordan got his fourth foul soon after that, but coach Doc Rivers kept him on the floor. The Clippers got going after that, using a 13-4 spurt to cut it to 83-70 with three minutes remaining in the third. Griffin took over for Los Angeles in that span, scoring nine points.
Ariza led Houston early in the third quarter, scoring eight points in a 12-7 run that pushed the lead to 75-55.
Los Angeles got within 2 with 3 minutes 30 seconds left in the first half when Spencer Hawes hit a three-pointer as the shot clock expired. But Houston scored the next nine points to extend the lead to 57-46. Griffin made a layup before the Rockets scored the last six points of the second quarter to make it 63-48 at halftime.
The Rockets led 27-22 at the end of the first quarter after getting nine points and eight rebounds from Howard.
*Associated Press
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Thanksgiving meals to try
World Cut Steakhouse, Habtoor Palace Hotel, Dubai. On Thursday evening, head chef Diego Solis will be serving a high-end sounding four-course meal that features chestnut veloute with smoked duck breast, turkey roulade accompanied by winter vegetables and foie gras and pecan pie, cranberry compote and popcorn ice cream.
Jones the Grocer, various locations across the UAE. Jones’s take-home holiday menu delivers on the favourites: whole roast turkeys, an array of accompaniments (duck fat roast potatoes, sausages wrapped in beef bacon, honey-glazed parsnips and carrots) and more, as well as festive food platters, canapes and both apple and pumpkin pies.
Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, The Address Hotel, Dubai. This New Orleans-style restaurant is keen to take the stress out of entertaining, so until December 25 you can order a full seasonal meal from its Takeaway Turkey Feast menu, which features turkey, homemade gravy and a selection of sides – think green beans with almond flakes, roasted Brussels sprouts, sweet potato casserole and bread stuffing – to pick up and eat at home.
The Mattar Farm Kitchen, Dubai. From now until Christmas, Hattem Mattar and his team will be producing game- changing smoked turkeys that you can enjoy at home over the festive period.
Nolu’s, The Galleria Mall, Maryah Island Abu Dhabi. With much of the menu focused on a California inspired “farm to table” approach (with Afghani influence), it only seems right that Nolu’s will be serving their take on the Thanksgiving spread, with a brunch at the Downtown location from 12pm to 4pm on Friday.
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Shooting Ghosts: A U.S. Marine, a Combat Photographer, and Their Journey Back from War by Thomas J. Brennan and Finbarr O’Reilly
MATCH INFO
Manchester City 3 (Sterling 46', De Bruyne 65', Gundogan 70')
Aston Villa 0
Red card: Fernandinho (Manchester City)
Man of the Match: Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)
THE SPECS
Jaguar F-Pace SVR
Engine: 5-litre supercharged V8
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Power: 542bhp
Torque: 680Nm
Price: Dh465,071
Key figures in the life of the fort
Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.
Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
UK's plans to cut net migration
Under the UK government’s proposals, migrants will have to spend 10 years in the UK before being able to apply for citizenship.
Skilled worker visas will require a university degree, and there will be tighter restrictions on recruitment for jobs with skills shortages.
But what are described as "high-contributing" individuals such as doctors and nurses could be fast-tracked through the system.
Language requirements will be increased for all immigration routes to ensure a higher level of English.
Rules will also be laid out for adult dependants, meaning they will have to demonstrate a basic understanding of the language.
The plans also call for stricter tests for colleges and universities offering places to foreign students and a reduction in the time graduates can remain in the UK after their studies from two years to 18 months.
The specs: 2018 Maserati Levante S
Price, base / as tested: Dh409,000 / Dh467,000
Engine: 3.0-litre V6
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 430hp @ 5,750rpm
Torque: 580Nm @ 4,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 10.9L / 100km
