Late last night [Thursday, April 22] the Golden State Warriors fell to the Houston Rockets, 97-96. On a painful last play, Draymon Green dribbled the ball off his foot with only 2.7 seconds left in the game. The Warriors had battled back from a seventeen-point deficit to take the lead with only 10 seconds remaining, but James Harden put the Rockets on his back and hit what would become the game winner with only seconds to go.
The reigning MVP, Steph Curry, sat out the game, his second in a row, with the team opting not to risk any further injury to his ankle. This loss gives the Warriors a slightly bigger obstacle to maneuver without their star point guard. While the Rockets are still not favored in the series, the Warriors were hoping to move past them with as little effort as possible.
For the Rockets, yesterday’s win was crucial for their survival. In Oakland, the Rockets seemed mentally to already be on summer break, with their team’s hustle and energy at extremely low levels. Rumors of the fractured relationship between their two stars, James Harden and Dwight Howard, seemed to be confirmed, with the two struggling to motivate their team. However, they both turned in strong performances back in Houston, with Harden flirting with a triple-double, dropping 35 points and nine assists on the Warriors, as well as racking up eight rebounds. Howard contributed to the victory with his high energy level on the defensive end and a double-double, with 13 points and 13 rebounds.
The series resumes Sunday in Houston at 3:30 pm on ABC. No doubt all eyes will be on Steph Curry’s health status to see whether or not he will start. Warriors fans will be hoping to put this loss behind them, and looking to regain their strong hold on this series. The Rockets, now only down by one game, will be looking to even the series up in front of their home crowd. While this series has not quite lived up to last year’s Western Conference Finals match up between these two teams, things could get interesting if Curry cannot play in Game 4.