Ty Lawson's benching hours after Kevin McHale's firing helps relaunch Rockets

Steven J. Gaither

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Ty Lawson's benching hours after Kevin McHale's firing helps relaunch Rockets image

It wasn't easy, but the Rockets stopped the bleeding Wednesday, if only for a night.

They came away with a 108-103 overtime win over the Trail Blazers just hours after Kevin McHale was fired as the team's coach. He led Houston to a 4-7 record this season. 

MORE: Eight coaching candidates for Rockets | McHale already with a job offer?

James Harden came up big with 45 points and 11 assists, but Rockets interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff was more impressed with Harden's intangibles.

"It’s about leadership. It’s about sacrifice," Bickerstaff said of Harden. "It’s about those things that matter most to your teammates."

One change Bickerstaff made was starting Jason Terry at point guard over Ty Lawson, whom the Rockets acquired in an offseason trade. Lawson, who's averaging 8.9 points (on 27 percent shooting) and 5.6 assists, went 1 for 8 off the bench Wednesday. Terry scored five points and allowed Harden to control the ball for much of the game. 

“James was comfortable with Jet (Terry) there. We’ve had success with that lineup," Bickerstaff said. "This was not a "point the finger at Ty." This was not a "blame Ty." This was to try to get Ty on the floor more without James so the ball can be in (Harden's) hands to make plays and see if we could get him more comfortable."

Stud of the night 

Russell Westbrook continues to put up mind-boggling numbers. He didn't get a triple-double Wednesday night, but 43 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in a 110-103 win over New Orleans is still a pretty good night. 

Dud of the night

Victor Oladipo made his return to the Magic lineup after missing two games as part of the NBA concussion protocol. Perhaps he should have sat out another night. The third-year guard was largely ineffective, scoring just one point and going 0 for 6 from the field in 20 minutes. Orlando beat Minnesota 104-101 in overtime. 

Highlight

DeMar DeRozan scored 14 points Wednesday night but this bucket should have been worth at least 10 on its own. Toronto lost 93-89 to Utah.

Looking ahead

Clippers (6-4) at Warriors (12-0), 10:30 p.m. ET: The Warriors are looking to stay undefeated while the Clippers will be hoping to just keep up. Starting guards Chris Paul and J.J. Redick are not expected to play. 

Bucks (5-6) at Cavaliers (8-3), 8 p.m. ET: LeBron James this week called out his team for a lack of effort. One of Cleveland's three losses this season came against the Bucks in double OT on Saturday.

Steven J. Gaither