Houston Rockets 95 - 92 Golden State Warriors
Rockets tie the series up at 2 games a piece with a nail biter against Golden State. It was a dogfight all night long. Both teams taking huge advantages in the game. This is the game that we were all waiting for. Back and forth, huge shot after huge shot. Curry had 28 points but it wasn’t enough as he missed a three at the buzzer to tie. Harden 30 points led the Rockets but Paul, 27 points, was the catalyst that led to the win.
Rockets Resiliency
The Rockets withstood the brunt of the attack and kept fighting back in the game as the Warriors landed big blow after blow. Going down by 12 to start the game. The Rockets came back in the 2nd to take a 7 point lead in the half. The Warriors assault started in the 3rd, ending the quarter down by 10. Eventually down 12, Paul led the comeback. Taking over the ball handling duties. Dishing out assists and hitting shots. Paul finished with 27 points, and 4 assists. Harden led the team with 30 points, Gordon came off the bench and chipped in 14.
The poise of the team looked great, but the stars helped set up the comeback. Harden led the team in the first, even playing some defense. Paul took over the second, making the Warriors chase him around while he changed the game. Shooting 5 for 9 from deep was a difference maker. The Warriors had to come out to guard him and opened up lanes for him to pass. Tucker had a terrible shooting game, but he came up big with 16 rebounds.
This was a big win for the Rockets. It was a gritty, tough win that the Rockets don’t win very often. The effort should stay this high if they want to win this series. Going home, they need to keep the edge they played with tonight.
Warriors Ailing
An injury to Andre Iguodala in the previous game held him out of this one, and Klay Thompson strained his knee early in the second quarter. This really seemed to hurt the Warriors offense. Going to a more isolation game, they struggled to move the ball as effectively as they did in game 3. Curry and Durant led the team with 28 and 27 points respectively, but no one else really showed up. Thompson was slowed after the injury and finished with only 10 points. Draymond played 45 minutes, and had 8 assists and 14 boards, but only 11 points.
Taking a 12-0 lead to start the game, it looked like they were going to run away with it, but the Rockets fought back. Going down 7 into the half, the Warriors came out firing in the 3rd. Curry and Durant caught fire during an 18-3 run. Taking a 10 point lead into the final quarter, they pushed it to 12, but Paul and the Rockets never said die. Paul exposed the lack of Iguodala as he picked on Looney and Bell. The Warriors offense stalled and went to iso ball. It wasn’t effective as they only scored 12 points in the 4th. The loss snapped Golden States home postseason winning streak.
Golden State looked uncharacteristically selfish. Durant especially. He was a ball stopper, and took some really tough shots. He made some, but the whole team stopped creating because of it. The defense failed them and turnovers killed them. The series shifts to Houston, and Kerr has some tweaks to make if the team isn’t 100% healthy,
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