By Jerry Wein
Danuel House Jr. is a 29-year-old wing who had made six NBA stops after going undrafted out of Texas A&M in 2016.
And he had appeared in only four of Philly’s eight playoff games prior to Tuesday, logging just 13 minutes.
But when Rivers decided to reach for a wild card in Game 5, he considered two others and landed on House.
One reason? House spent parts of three seasons in Houston with Harden. It helped explain Philadelphia’s interest in signing him last summer and it matter in this game because House worked in sync with his bearded buddy.
In 15 minutes, the sturdy 6-6, 220-pounder provided physical defense on various Boston shooters. He was quick to and with the ball, scoring 10 points by making five of his seven shots and grabbing five rebounds.
“Just smart,” Harden said of House. “Things he knows that you don’t have to tell him.”
One example: A few minutes into the final quarter, with the impatient TD Garden crowd at its loudest, Harden delivered a slick behind-the-back bounce pass to House. House could have romped up the lane and taken his chances at the rim, but instead he saw and passed to Maxey, open in the right corner.
Maxey’s 3-pointer made it 95-81 and shushed those folks but good.
Danuel House Junior had 10 points in 15 minutes
Doc Rivers says he went with his gut and had a House Party https://t.co/9Mzp6M4k9f
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) May 10, 2023
