Two games into their first round playoff series with the Houston Rockets, who they beat in the Western Conference Finals a year ago, the Dubs find themselves up two games to zero, however it has come at a price.
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A cold blooded step back fade away jumper from James Harden with 2.7 seconds left on the game clock turned out to be the game-winner for the Houston Rockets, as Draymond Green committed a costly mistake by turning the ball over off of his foot on the next possession. Reserve forward Marreese Speights paced the Warriors, who played a second consecutive game without Curry, with 22 points. Up 2-0 after two games in Oakland, Curry has been ruled out for a second-straight game due to a sprained ankle sustained in a Game 1 win. Curry was not on the bench with the team for this one and it was unclear where he watched the game.
After a plea from Coach J.B. Bickerstaff that his team be “nastier”, the Rockets were much more aggressive and scrappy than they had been in the first two games and led by as many as 17 points in the first half. The Warriors will now look to take a commanding 3-0 series lead, while the Rockets hope a shift home can help them make this a series. Harden closed the quarter with a free throw, a pull-up jumper plus a basket following his offensive rebound for a 13-point advantage entering the second.
It’s fun seeing teams play atypical to everything we know and love about them, and Golden State’s second half push to get back into the game led by Shaun Livingston’s mid-range game was just a delight.
In the fourth quarter, Harden made another 3 over Green, of course, and gave the Rockets a four-point lead.
Harden led the Rockets in scoring as he dropped 35 points to go with his eight rebounds and nine assists. Coach Steve Kerr said he was encouraged by how Curry looked yesterday.
“We need to turn it to another level for Game 4”, he said, per Dial Creech.
Warriors vs Rockets Thursday in Houston – The Golden State Warriors (73-9) will visit the Houston Rockets (41-41) on Thursday at the Toyota Center. In fact, Howard’s most noteworthy statistic might be in the fouls column – he fouled out Monday and committed five fouls in Game 1.
Following a pair of Harrison Barnes free throws that cut the Houston lead to six points, Livingston added three pull-up jumpers, the last with 8:59 left to cut it to 81-80.The Warriors followed with a three-minute scoreless spell yet hung tough. Their formula for winning should be similar to Games 1 and 2 while giving Curry the time he needs to heal up.
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The Warriors said Curry underwent an MRI exam Tuesday that showed nothing of concern, so he would keep working on it in preparation for the next game.
