The Rockets found themselves in the same position as game one. Down late, clawing their way back to try to steal a game on the road. With a shot at victory on his fingertips, James Harden raced up the court with just seconds left. Then, the Splash Brothers flexed their defensive muscles and stole the ball – and the game – away from him.
In another epic battle between MVP Stephen Curry and runner up James Harden, the Warriors escaped with a 99-98 victory to take a stranglehold lead in this series heading back to Houston. Harden finished with 38 points, 10 rebounds, and 9 assists, but it was Curry who hit the clutch shots and made the right plays that put the Warriors in a position to win. Curry finished with 33 points and 6 assists, and was the mastermind behind another impressive offensive performance. However, it was their defense that ultimately saved the game.
The first half started like a reverse of game one. The Warriors jumped out to a big lead, at one point up by 17 points in the second quarter, only to see the Rockets fight back to tie the game heading into halftime. Dwight Howard played through his knee injury, and had a tremendous impact on the game. He finished with 19 points and 17 rebounds, and kept Andrew Bogut in foul trouble all night. When Festus Ezeli replaced him, Howard dominated inside and repeatedly put the Warriors defense in trouble. Bogut still had an excellent game, all things considered, finishing with 14 points, 8 rebounds, and a postseason career high 5 blocks.
Houston once again leaned on Harden for offense, and in the third quarter he delivered. Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green, however, had other ideas. Thompson finally found some semblance of an offensive rhythm, and he came up big with his defense in the fourth quarter, especially on the last play. True to form for these Warriors, the defensive backbone was the real hero in the victory. Josh Smith was held to only 5 of 17 shooting, and he, Trevor Ariza, and Corey Brewer were held to only 20 points combined. By comparison, Ariza had 20 himself in game one.
Meanwhile, “Chef Curry” got the offense rolling early on, and never looked back. He hit three 3s in the first quarter and Golden State was rolling. While the Rockets made their runs in the second and third quarters, it was Curry who played the role of stopper and kept Golden State in front.
Late in the fourth, however, the Rockets continued to show their never say die attitude. Down 7 with just 1:20 to go, Harden took over, scoring four quick points and setting up a Howard alley-oop to cut the lead to one with 33 seconds left. That basket followed a rare eight second backcourt violation, which was facilitated both by a poor decision on the part of the Warriors to not call timeout, and some excellent defense by the Rockets.
Harrison Barnes missed a reverse layup with less than 10 seconds to go, and that’s when the madness began. Harden had the ball at half court in front of a backpedaling Warriors defense, before he passed to a trailing Dwight Howard, obviously not the best guy to have the ball in that position. Howard then passed back to Harden, who was trapped and had the ball knocked out as time expired. Many will second-guess the final few seconds, but Harden immediately said after the game that he couldn’t have had a better scenario with a chance to win the game.
Should Kevin McHale have called timeout? I don’t think so. He has his best player, one of the best players in the league, with the ball in his hands in transition against a scrambling defense. The problem occurred when it appeared the Rockets players were anticipating a timeout, so the fast break was poorly run. The spacing was wrong, and Dwight Howard ended up with the ball at the top of the key. The Warriors, to their credit, reacted well to the fast break, and forced Harden to give the ball up before ultimately stripping him, sealing the win.
Like game one, the Rockets have to feel frustrated. Once again, they had a chance to steal a game on the road, played an excellent basketball game, and couldn’t emerge victorious. However, they must be encouraged by the way James Harden has led this team back to even have a chance. He has played much better than his regular season matchups with Golden State, and seems to have Draymond Green and Klay Thompson on their heels when defending him. Ultimately, the supporting cast of the Rockets will be the deciding factor in the series. They can’t come out with this kind of performance again and expect to win, even when Harden scores 38 points and a double-double. The Warriors are sitting pretty, though, and have a chance to put this series to rest, and advance to the NBA Championship.