The Houston Rockets finished off one of two potential elimination games to start off Wednesday night's slate of NBA action. Behind a big performance from James Harden, who finished with a team-high 26 points, the Rockets defended their home floor with a 100 to take out the Utah Jazz and advance on to what many expect will be a showdown with the Warriors in the Western Conference semifinals.
In the second game, the top-ranked Warriors can eliminate the eighth-seeded Clippers in Game 5 at Oracle Arena, but Los Angeles has shown it doesn't go down without a fight. Still, down 3-1 against the defending champs and on the road is a tough task for anyone.
If both the Warriors and Rockets handle their business, the two will face off in the second round of the postseason in what will surely be an exciting series.
Below is everything you need to know about Wednesday's first-round action:
NBA playoffs schedule for Wednesday, April 24
*All times Eastern
Harden leads the Rockets to series-clinching victory
While it wasn't his best effort, Rockets star James Harden did enough to lead the Rockets to the Western Conference semifinals on Wednesday night after stuffing the stat sheet in Houston's 100-93 win.
Paul turns in stellar effort for the Rockets
Chris Paul was forced to battle early foul trouble but, in the end, he left his mark on the matchup between the Rockets and Jazz on Wednesday night by finishing the series-clinching win with 15 points to go along with eight rebounds and five assists.
Harden comes up with clutch steal
James Harden is not known for his defense, but he made the big play on that end of the floor in the closing seconds of Wednesday night's Game 5 to help his team finish off the Utah Jazz and advance to the second round.
Gordon goes glass from 3
The Jazz are doing everything they can to get the ball out of James Harden's hands, and sometimes that means giving up open shots to other players. Eric Gordon got one of those open looks, and launched an immediate 3 that banked in from the top of the key.
Harden goes up top to Capela
James Harden led the league in scoring this season, but he's also a tremendous playmaker. One of his favorite plays is driving inside and tossing up a lob to Clint Capela, as he did in Game 5.
