Column: James Harden leads Rockets to overtime Game 3 win over Warriors

Reporting from Houston —  The Rockets fans, covered in red just like James Harden’s blood-tinged eyes, showered their favorite player with an apropos chant.

“M-V-P!” they howled as Harden sank a pair of early free throws.

And if that’s how they felt in the first half, imagine how they felt walking out into the Texas night after overtime on Saturday night.

Harden, the master of the step-back, the best scorer in the NBA, drilled a three-point shot and a floater in the final minute, sealing Houston’s 126-121 victory over Golden State in Game 3 of their semifinal playoff series, and getting the Rockets a step closer to evening the series Monday night in Game 4.

Those final five points pushed Harden to 41, an MVP-caliber performance to overcome 46 points by Kevin Durant, on a night when the Rockets didn’t just want to win — they needed to win.

“That’s James,” Houston coach Mike D’Antoni said. “That’s what he does. He did it.”

He does it most nights. Saturday, he just wasn’t alone.

“We’ve got a real team,” Rockets point guard Chris Paul said.

In the first half, it was 20 points from Eric Gordon, his sharpshooting opening up the floor. It was Clint Capela, the Rockets center who was a nonfactor in the first two games of the series when he was a combined minus-36, getting baskets at the rim from his activity, forcing the Warriors’ defense to stay honest.

And, maybe most importantly of all, it was P.J. Tucker, saddled with early foul trouble, closing the game by bulldozing his way to every available rebound and loose ball, playing like someone who knew how desperate things were for his Rockets.

“That,” Golden State coach Steve Kerr said, “was the biggest indicator in the difference in physicality and the competitiveness. They played like a team down 2-0. … They brought the competitive fire. …

“We … we played OK.”

Tucker, who picked up his fourth foul a little more than a minute into the third quarter, had nine total rebounds in the fourth quarter and overtime alone — as many as the Warriors did as a team in those last 17 minutes.

“They outplayed us,” Kerr said plainly.

There are reasons to think this kind of thing is sustainable enough in Game 4 — Gordon hitting shots, Harden making plays, Tucker giving everything to win at the margins of the game. And down the floor, there’s maybe a real reason to be concerned.

Stephen Curry, who has been showered with his share of “MVP” chants, had what Kerr repeatedly called a “tough” night. In his first game back since dislocating the middle finger on his left hand, Curry made only seven of 23 shots from the field, missing a key layup and a dunk in the fourth quarter.

If that’s causing struggles, maybe the Warriors should be nervous.

But even with all of that, the Warriors easily could’ve left the arena with the win — and a 3-0 lead.

Sign up for our daily sports newsletter »

For as good as Harden was, Durant might’ve been even better. After a slow first half by his standards, Durant exploded for 34 points in the second half, including a stretch in which he scored 10 points on four straight possessions to open the fourth quarter.

It was “his brand of basketball,” he said, taking “each possession seriously. Nothing different.”

Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala, in their own ways, were just as unstoppable. Green had the sixth playoff triple-double of his career: 19 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. And Iguodala continued his torrid shooting, making six of nine from the field in scoring 16 points.

But none of that slowed Houston’s thrust, whether it was Harden pushing to the rim or Tucker hustling for loose balls.

“You’ve got to be aggressive,” Harden said. “You can’t be timid.”

They left their impression on the Warriors, who felt a different force, an urgency coming from Houston.

“We just didn’t give up,” D’Antoni said. “The game just has a lot of twists and turns, ups and downs.”

The Rockets left on their feet, for now, still very alive in this series thanks to its MVP and his supporting cast.

dan.woike@latimes.com

Twitter: @DanWoikeSports