The Rockets have always needed Chris Paul and now they need him more than ever

With 4:29 remaining in a tightly contested, pivotal Game 5 matchup between the Rockets and Warriors on Thursday, James Harden chucked up an absolute brick. It was a huge miss at the worst possible time for Harden, who was already having an awful shooting night before getting up a shot with little-to-no chance at going in.

But P.J. Tucker recovered the offensive rebound, and in years past, the ball would have gone back to Harden. This time, it went to Chris Paul. Thank God for Chris Paul.

Paul finished Game 5 with 20 points on 6-of-19 shooting from the floor. Eighteen of those 20 points came in the second half on 50 percent shooting from the field and 4-of-6 shooting from three, including a ridiculous double-pump triple over David West.

CP3’s performance took the pressure off of Harden, who did not make any of his 11 three-point attempts and shot 5-of-21 from the field on the night. Harden is almost certainly the league’s MVP this season, and deservedly so, but the Rockets’ super scorer has had his fair share of dull performances in high-pressure playoff situations. Paul hasn’t been this far in the playoffs in his entire career, and after he put Houston on his back in Game 5, it’s clear he lives for this moment.

Paul, though, was unable to finish Game 5. He injured his right hamstring in the final minute of the fourth quarter and was forced to watch the final possessions from the sidelines. It’s unclear how sever CP3’s injury is, but if he was able to play, he most certainly would have.

More details will emerge soon on Paul’s hamstring injury and whether he’ll be able to bounce back for Game 6, or if he’ll have to miss an extended period of time. The Rockets had better hope he’s ready to go this weekend. Because if anything is certain now after they survived the Warriors on Thursday, it’s that Houston needs CP3 to move on.