In the first quarter, the Houston Rockets looked very slow. They kept on allowing Memphis to hustle up and down the court with no problem. Dwight Howard got in foul trouble early, which took away the defense down low in the paint. Marc Gasol was taking full advantage of it. Gasol had a field day in the first quarter, scoring 11 of the Grizzlies' 31 points. For the Rockets, Harden scored 10 points. Other than that, offense was hard to find early in the game. Luckily for the Rockets, if Zach Randolph played, they would've been in a deep hole early. At the end of the first quarter, Memphis led, 31-24.
The second quarter went back-and-forth. The Houston Rockets continued to get out-hustled, and were paying the price. Memphis got good looks on the fast break which led to easy points. Usually, the Rockets like to play up-tempo, but there was no sign of it early on. Quincy Pondexter came alive for the Grizzlies in the quarter. He scored nine points, which really helped their bench. Josh Smith, making his Rockets debut, had a solid quarter. With Dwight Howard only having two points along with a handful of fouls, Josh Smith got a lot of playing time off of the bench. The Rockets ended the quarter on a 10-3 run to keep the game close. At halftime, the Grizzlies led, 57-50.
Coming out of halftime, the Houston Rockets knew that this game wasn't anywhere close to being over. They came out with some energy. Harden and Ariza knocked down threes, while Patrick Beverley hit a floater. Marc Gasol came out of halftime and continued his great game. He continued to find open shots, and the Houston Rockets simply could not stop him. The good news was that the Rockets' shots were falling. The Houston Rockets turned up the defense throughout the quarter and trimmed the deficit. Heading to the final quarter, the Grizzlies only led by two, 81-79.
The Rockets and Grizzlies both played a thrilling fourth quarter. Houston finally managed to grab a lead but could not prevent Memphis from coming back. James Harden and Corey Brewer made key shots to help the Rockets grab the lead, but it was only a matter of minutes before the Grizzlies came storming back. Vince Carter came up huge for Memphis. He made two three-pointers which helped Memphis re-gain the lead late. James Harden answered with a layup, and the game was tied at 104. The Grizzlies had the final shot, but Marc Gasol's jumper did not go down. Headed to overtime, the score was all knotted up at 104.
Costless basketball. The Houston Rockets and Memphis Grizzlies both entered overtime with perfect 3-0 records. One team had to suffer their first overtime loss. Both teams opened the quarter with strong defense. Dwight Howard finally got himself involved in the game. He made four critical costless throws which helped the Rockets seal the victory. Memphis could not get their shots to fall. Mike Conley hit a three, but everyone else was almost non-existent. Tony Allen had a good overtime period, but he ended up fouling out. Surprisingly, Marc Gasol and Vince Carter did not score in overtime. The Houston Rockets held on to win it, 117-111.