West Conf. Semis Game 4: Houston Rockets 100 - 87 Utah Jazz - 5 Talking Points

#3 The Rockets' backcourt comes through on a tough offensive night

Birthday boy Chris Paul had a night to remember on the court

The Rockets struggled to get any sort of shooting rhythm going as a roster on the night, as their role players were not up to the mark from the perimeter. Barring Capela, Harden and Paul, they were unable to move the scoreline by much, as Ariza, Gordon and Mbah a Moute were below par on the night.

Perhaps it is just as well that the former trio was on point last night, and their backcourt, in particular, came to play. James Harden and Chris Paul combined for 51 of the Rockets' 100-point total, and they took over scoring duties whenever the Jazz tried to mount/complete a comeback on the scoreline on a night when the road team never relinquished the lead.

Harden's field goal percentage of 36.4% (8-of-22 from the field and 1-of-7 from downtown) is not great by any standards, but he is a master at drawing fouls, and thus added 7 points to his scoring total from the charity stripe. He finished with 24 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals and led the Rockets in +/- with a +10 rating.

Point God Chris Paul was the best perimeter player on the night, taking 23 shots to score 27 points. Though he was off from long range, he is one of the best mid-range scorers to ever play the game and that helped him keep the scoreboard ticking. Paul had 27 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and a block on 52.2% shooting from the floor and a +/- of +10.