BOSTON – The Rockets likely knew that nothing would come easily. Even when they led by 28 early in the second half, when they took a 22-point lead into the fourth quarter, they could see the Celtics' run coming.
The Rockets had been there often before. They might have continued the trend of letting leads get away or become perilously small, but they were not going to panic when the usual happened again.
With the Celtics making their move, the Rockets got a pair of buckets from James Harden, then slammed the door with P.J. Tucker and Eric Gordon shutting down the Celtics on the other end, closing out a 115-104 win, the Rockets' fifth straight.