This series is headed back to San Francisco for Game 6 after the Rockets, from the opening jump, ran Golden State out of the building on Wednesday. This one was never close, even though the Warriors made a run with their back-up squad to make the final score look a least a little bit closer than the game actually was.
Houston, which came out on fire and had Golden State bottled up with its pressure defense (particularly the zone it deployed), led by as many as 31 and had Steve Kerr pulling his starters halfway through the third quarter.
For all the talk about Houston’s offensive shortcomings, they have shotmakers who can hurt you, badly, on an given night. Jalen Green did it to them in Game 2. Alperen Sengun and Fred VanVleet combined for 56 points in Game 4.
In Game 5, everyone had it going with all five starters in double figures led by VanVleet with 26, Amen Thompson with 25 and Dillon Brooks with 24. Thompson is just a superhuman defender and athlete. He had eight “stocks” (five steals plus three blocks), including this pickpocket of Stephen Curry.
Meanwhile, Sengun, who was stood up by Draymond Green on the deciding play of Game 4, went straight at Green from the start of this one and just missed a triple-double with 15 points, nine rebounds, nine assists, two steals and two blocks.
The Rockets might not win this series, but they are making life hell on the Warriors. This is a very good team that’s not going to let it season end quietly.
Golden State had just one player in double figures at halftime, and Curry and Jimmy Butler, who finished with just eight points on 2-of-10 shooting, were both held scoreless in the first quarter. You always hold out for the possibility of a Warriors run on some kind of crazy Curry flurry, but it was never in the cards in this one.
So here we go for Game 6 on Friday. It’s not a must-win for the Warriors, but if they let this go back to Houston for a Game 7, they are playing with fire.
The Rockets are putting a beating on the Warriors in Game 5. Barring some kind of second-half miracle, this series is headed back to San Francisco.
The good news for the Warriors is they have a 3-1 lead after barely winning Game 4 by one point, so they can, in theory, afford to let this one slip to some degree. The bad news is the Rockets, as they have done over plenty of stretches in this series, are making the Warriors look incapable of creating any kind of easy offense.
And Houston’s offensive shortcomings have been exaggerated. They were nearly a top-10 unit this year, and they have scored fairly easily in three out of the five games in this series. Jalen Green lit the Warriors up in Game 2. Alperen Sengun and Fred VanVleet combined for 56 in Game 4. And everyone is cooking in Game 5, led by another gem from VanVleet, who has 19 at the break.
Houston’s zone defense has Golden State befuddled. Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler were held scoreless in the first quarter. Curry leads the Warriors with 11, but Butler has just six points with one made shot. When Gui Santos is your second-leading scorer and you’ve trailed by as many as 30, you’re in trouble.
Indeed, the Warriors are in trouble.
WOW. What. A. Finish. Houston and Golden State traded leads throughout the fourth quarter, but with the Warriors leading by one, Draymond Green forced a stop on Alperen Sengun and Golden State took the rebound with four seconds remaining. Jimmy Butler sank both free throws to push the lead to three, but Fred VanVleet managed to get up a clean, game-tying 3-point attempt. It was on line, but just barely missed and Golden State pulled out the victory, 109-106.
The two heroes for Golden State were Brandin Podziemski and Jimmy Butler. Podziemski finished the game with 26 points and five rebounds, making six of his 11 3-point attempts to keep the offense afloat while Stephen Curry struggled. Butler, meanwhile, got the hard points the Warriors needed by getting to the line and making all 12 of his free-throw attempts in his return from injury.
The loss wastes Herculean efforts out of Sengun, who scored 31 points, and VanVleet, who made eight 3s. Now the Rockets are on the ropes. They return home to Houston for Game 5, but lost the only healthy game the Warriors have played there in this series. Now they have to win three in a row to steal the series against the No. 7 seeded Warriors. Golden State, meanwhile, is one win away from a second-round date with either the Lakers or Timberwolves.
We’re halfway through Game 4 between the Rockets and Warriors, but this feels less like a basketball game and more like a street fight. We’ve had several skirmishes, hard fouls left and right, and Draymond Green was very nearly ejected late in the second quarter. Green, Dillon Brooks and Stephen Curry all have technicals. Green also has a flagrant. It’s practically fight night in San Francisco, and with two quarters to go, there’s no telling how well these teams will be able to control their emotions.
It’s been a balanced attack on both sides. Golden State’s Brandin Podziemski leads all scorers with 13 points, but several players are hot on his trail. The Rockets, interestingly, have mostly abandoned the 3-point shot. They’ve tried just 11 through two quarters, making seven, but are living at the foul line and in the paint overall. As has been the case all series, they’re owning the boards with a plus-five rebounding advantage.
The stakes here are significant. If Houston wins this game, the series is tied and the Rockets regain home-court advantage. If Golden State pulls it out, it needs to win only one of the final three games to clinch the series. Jimmy Butler is back on the floor, but playing through pain. Frankly, so is everyone involved here. This is the most physical series of the playoffs thus far, and Game 4 has amped that up to an 11.
Draymond Green is still in this game by the skin of his teeth. On this foul he committed against Tari Eason, his legs landed on top of Eason’s head and he then pulled his jersey. Had he been assessed a technical foul on review, it would have been his second and he would have been ejected. Instead, he gets a flagrant-1 foul and remains on the floor. Either way, things have gotten chippy in San Francisco.
In one of the least surprising playoff confrontations ever, Draymond Green and Dillon Brooks just went at it. Green screen knocked Amen Thompson down. Brooks responded by fouling Stephen Curry, who flashed two fingers at Brooks to indicate his second foul. Brooks responded by ripping the ball out of Curry’s hand and we were off to the races. Curry, Green and Brooks were all assessed technical fouls, so the Rockets got a free throw out of the whole affair. Jalen Green missed it, so no points were exchanged.
Buddy Hield got the surprise start in Game 4, but that was based largely on his shooting. The idea was to take away Alperen Sengun’s hiding spot on defense, Moses Moody, by putting an elite shooter on the floor in his place. But an elite passer? Yea, didn’t see this coming, but Hield just dished out his best dime of the season on this gem to Brandin Podziemski.
After missing Game 3 with a pelvic contusion, Warriors star Jimmy Butler is back in the starting lineup for Game 4 of his team’s series vs. the Houston Rockets.
Jimmy Butler missed Game 3 after a hard fall in Game 2 resulted in a pelvic contusion. But according to multiple reports, Butler is expected back in the Warriors’ lineup for Game 4 on Monday. Before the game, Golden State coach Steve Kerr said nothing will be confirmed until Butler goes through warmups. But if he’s given the green light to play, Butler will not be on a minutes restriction.
Jimmy Butler injury update: Warriors star to start in Game 4 against Rockets on Monday
It feels like the Golden State Warriors pulled off a minor miracle in winning Game 3 without the services of Jimmy Butler. It didn’t look good early when they managed just 18 first-quarter points and Curry was held to two in the opening period, but they defended long enough to let Curry get loose in the second with 13 points and somehow Golden State was able to trim its halftime deficit to three after being down 13.
From there, Golden State’s defense and Curry took over. Curry, who once again was being face-guarded and harassed by multiple defenders wherever he moved, finished with 36 points, nine assists, seven rebounds and even a pair of blocks to go with five 3-pointers. He was just spectacular. There’s nothing else to say. With the way he’s being guarded, this level of shotmaking is crazy.
“In this series, no game is gonna be pretty,” Curry said. “You just kind of have to grind it out, stick with the runs. We had 22 points, like, halfway through the first half and you’re looking up like, how are we gonna score? You just stick with it and make the right play and the shots started to fall. We made a really good defensive stand, Draymond was unbelievable, everybody who came in stepped up in place of Jimmy. Hopefully he’s back soon.”
Buddy Hield came up clutch to keep the Warriors afloat with three 3-pointers in the first half and finished with 17 points, making a couple monster shots to keep the Warriors attached while Curry stole a few moments of rest.
Gary Payton II was equally huge. Payton did his normal defensive thing, but his offensive contributions have always been underrated by anyone who doesn’t regularly consume Warriors basketball. Payton scored nine straight points for the Warriors over a two-minute stretch late in the fourth quarter.
Coming into the series, the concern for the Rockets was their offense. It let them down again. In Game 2 it was there behind a huge performance from Jalen Green, but that, so far, has proven to be an outlier in this series. It must be said how hard the Warriors are fighting defensively themselves; just trying to stay alive on the glass is asking for everything they have.
Houston was led by Fred VanVleet’s 17 points, Alperen Sengun’s 15 and Dillon Brooks’ 13. The Rockets had five guys score in double figures and all eight who saw the court scored at least eight. Everyone did a little bit, but no one did enough as Houston was held under 40% shooting.
The Warriors now lead the series 2-1. Game 4 is set for Monday. We’ll see if Butler can make it back for that one.
It feels like the Rockets should be up by a lot more than this, but credit the Warriors for sticking in this one until Stephen Curry was able to shake a little bit loose in the second quarter. We’ve got a ballgame.
The Rockets are selling out on Curry without Jimmy Butler around to hurt them, and for about 15 game minutes it was working as Golden State couldn’t do anything offensively. Curry split a double-team at the top of the key for a finger roll down the middle of the lane, and that led to a 13-point second quarter.
Curry has 15 total and the Warriors ended the first half on a 9-0 run. Buddy Hield really stepped up with three 3-pointers. The Warriors have to find a way to make Houston pay for all the attention they’re devoting to Curry in the second half.
Fred VanVleet has struggled through the first two games of the series but he came out hot and leads Houston with 13 points. The Rockets have made six 3-pointers at a 40% clip and have found easier offense than the Warriors in general. Again, they should be up more. But they aren’t. It looks like we’re in for a tight one.
Jimmy Butler injury update: Warriors rule out star forward for Game 3 vs. Rockets
The Houston Rockets evened their first-round series 1-1 against the Golden State Warriors with a blowout win in Game 2 on Wednesday. And somehow, the actual game might not have been the biggest loss the Warriors suffered.
Jimmy Butler exited the game late in the first quarter and never returned after suffering what the Warriors called a pelvic contusion, the same injury Stephen Curry sustained toward the end of the regular season. Butler will have an MRI to determine the extent of the injury.
If Butler can’t go in Game 3 on Saturday, the Warriors are in serious trouble. Actually, they might be in serious trouble anyway. The Rockets are smothering them into submission with their physical defense, and claims of Houston’s offensive ineptitude have been exaggerated.
The Rockets might not have a traditional superstar scorer, but they have two guys who can, on any given night, perform to that kind of elite level. Alperen Sengun did it in Game 1 with 26 points. Jalen Green did it in Game 2 with 38 and eight 3-pointers.
Stephen Curry led the Warriors with 20 points, but his night was a living hell against this defense and without the help of Butler. This series is a war. See you on Saturday.
Jimmy Butler injury update: Warriors rule out star forward for Game 3 vs. Rockets
The Houston Rockets are in total control of Game 2 with a 14-point halftime lead that feels like it should be even bigger. The Warriors have had no answer for Houston’s physicality, and if Golden State is going to mount a rally, it’s going to have to do it without Jimmy Butler and probably Brandin Podziemski.
Butler has already been ruled out for the rest of the game after suffering a pelvic contusion on a hard fall in the first quarter.
Podziemski is dealing with a stomach illness and was questionable to to play prior to the game. He gave it a go but didn’t look anywhere near full strength before going back to the locker room. It feels unlikely that he’ll return.
Jalen Green, who struggled in Game 1, is leading the Rockets with 15 points. Alperen Sengun, who was the only guy able to do much of anything offensively in the opener, has 13.
Houston looks fast and comfortable offensively, and they are again controlling the offensive glass. Even when the Warriors do get stops, the Rockets are getting multiple shot attempts. If the Rockets are able to close this one out, all eyes will turn to Game 3 on Saturday in a 1-1 series and whether Butler will be able to play.
In the meantime, you can bet Stephen Curry, who has 11 points at the break, is going to try to pull one of his magic acts in the second half.
The Warriors currently have two starters in the locker room and their hopes of making a Game 2 comeback just took a major hit.
Jimmy Butler, as you can see below, took a hard fall on his tailbone area and was ruled out with a tailbone contusion. And now Brandin Podziemski is back in the locker room, too. Podziemski was questionable to even play as he is dealing with an illness. He started the game, but he’s still not feeling well and is questionable to return to the floor.
At this point, the rest of this game is almost an afterthought to Butler’s status moving forward in this series. The Warriors, even at full strength, have their hands full with an extremely talented and physical Houston team. They will be fighting way uphill if Butler can’t go in Game 3 or beyond.
The Warriors are trying to withstand a barrage of physicality early in this game and now they’re trying to do it without Jimmy Butler, who was unintentionally undercut by Amen Thompson on a rebound attempt and came down hard directly on his tailbone area.
Butler stayed in to shoot his two free throws but then was subbed out and limped back to the locker room.
We’ll obviously be keeping an eye on Butler’s status moving forward.
After going through warmups, Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski is in the starting lineup for the Warriors for Wednesday night’s Game 2 matchup with the Houston Rockets. Podziemski was listed as questionable with an illness but was listed in his normal spot in the starting lineup in the backcourt with Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler.
The Warriors could be without a key player for Game 2 of their first-round series with the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night as guard Brandin Podziemski was downgraded to questionable with an illness. Warriors coach Steve Kerr told reporters that something Podziemski ate was affecting him in the lead-up to the game. Podziemski’s status will be decided after he goes through warmups.
Podziemski, a 33-game starter, averaged 11.7 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game during the regular season. In Game 1 of the series with Houston, a 95-85 win for Golden State, Podziemski scored 14 points while contributing eight rebounds, five assists and two steals.
If he cannot play, Podziemski would be a notable absence as the Warriors look to take a 2-0 lead in the series before it heads to San Francisco for Game 3 on Saturday.
The Golden State Warriors took a 1-0 series lead over the Houston Rockets on Sunday. Stephen Curry led the way with 31 points. Jimmy Butler was fantastic with 25 points, seven rebounds, six assists and five steals.
The Rockets trailed by as many as 23 but got it down to three late in the fourth quarter, but Golden State answered the run and closed it out late. This is what everyone was concerned about with Houston, not having a go-to scorer who can carry them in a close game’s late possessions.
The Warriors have no such problem with Butler getting to the rim and Curry hitting shots like this.
And this …
Alperen Sengun led the Rockets with 26 points but nobody else scored more than 11. The Rockets dominated on the offensive glass, where they’re going to be a major problem for Golden State all series, but for all the talk about the Rockets’ defense, Golden State is an elite defensive unit, too. Houston made just 6 of 29 3-pointers and shot 39% overall.
These two teams will now get two days off, which will help the older Warriors a lot more, with Game 2 set for Wednesday night in Houston.
Even by Stephen Curry standards, this falling-out-of-bounds 3 with the shot clock about to expire is madness.
Curry is up to 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting, including 3 of 6 from 3.
The Golden State Warriors withstood an early rush from the Houston Rockets and methodically worked their way into a comfortable halftime lead. The Rockets are killing Golden State on the boards but the Warriors are winning everywhere else.
Stephen Curry got himself going with four finishes at the rim before he found his 3-point shot late to finish the half with 16 points. Jimmy Butler has been terrific with 13 points, four assists and three steals. Alperen Sengun leads Houston with 16, but nobody else has more than five as Golden State has clamped down to create 11 turnovers.
In the early going of Game 1, the Rockets have showed us everything we knew about them but were perhaps afraid to admit against the pedigree of the Warriors. The defense is incredible, the offensive rebounding is elite, and the shot-creation and shot-making are much better than they get credit for.
And most importantly, this Houston team is NOT afraid and is actually looking to be the enforcer — as evidenced by this absolute hammer dunk by Alperen Sengun over Draymond Green early in the first quarter.
