Houston Rockets Flounder Aimlessly Against Golden State Warriors

The Houston Rockets haven’t played many back-to-back games as of late but this is one of the most notable to date.

Yes, our team fell 117-107 to a gritty, no-holds barred Portland Trail Blazers team and is now set to take on the Golden State Warriors in a rematch from Tuesday’s meltdown.

The thing about playing the Warriors is that once you concede a lead to them, it’s hard to get it back.

That certainly was the case for the Rockets as they got themselves back into the game but the Warriors kept pushing them back.

One could make the same case for last night’s match up with the Blazers but luckily the Rockets did catch up sans the spirited winning finish that we were all expecting.

It’s cool — wins and losses are important but are relative at this point of the season as we’re just biding time until the playoffs start.

The team’s playoff berth is secure as well as the No. 3 seed in the West so there’s nothing else left to do but compete in each and every game the rest of the way.

Did they learn from their mistakes and do that tonight?

More from House of Houston

From the tip, the Warriors got after it with the script sticking to what similarly happened back in H-Town, taking a 12-4 lead with 9:32 left in the 1st quarter.

But a funny thing happened…

The Rockets tightened up their defense — Trevor Ariza started diving for loose balls/making steals, Eric Gordon started to stroke from deep, Clint Capela made effective cuts to the hoop for the score; and most importantly, James Harden was the conductor of it all.

They flipped their deficit into a surplus with an 11-0 run and the Rockets taking a 15-12 lead after an Gordon three-pointer.

The Rockets did not relent and stayed on top at the end of the quarter, 25-23.

The 2nd quarter involved our team building on the lead that they started, going up by as much as 13 points, staying in front 59-46 with 1:34 left, their largest lead of the game.

But the tides quickly turned, with the Warriors going a 15-2 run to close within five, down only 61-56 at the half.

At the start of the third, the Warriors continued to exert tremendous pressure on the Rockets but they still continued to maintain what they built by staying ahead.

The Rockets’ shooting touch chilled a bit and the Warriors started to knock on the door with a tremendous amount opportunities because of their lack of defensive rebounding.

JaVale McGee was having the game of his life — with him blocking shots and dominating the paint inside.

More from Houston Rockets

This quarter was certainly a grind-out as it depicts what a match up of the league’s top teams should look like.

Draymond Green also wanted in the party with McGee, having command of the paint and making things difficult for Harden by slapping him on his left wrist.

But that’s BASKETBALL — if this wasn’t happening, it wouldn’t be part of the game that we love so dearly.

The game went severely downhill for the Rockets in the 4th quarter as the momentum had clearly shifted back into the Warriors’ corner.

Their defense was smothering to the point of the Rockets not being able to score for nearly seven minutes straight, being stuck on 92 points.

The Warriors took the lead back — 95-92 — after an Ian Clark three-pointer assisted by Green.

They never gave it up after going on a 8-0 run to go up 100-92 with 3:00 left in the game.

The Rockets finally scored with 2:41 left after a Harden three but it was too little, too late.

Our team had started to wave the surrender flag on defense while the Warriors continued to have control over the paint, getting offensive rebound after rebound.

Houston Rockets /

Houston Rockets

As a matter of fact, the Rockets lead that margin as team 19-13 but the Warriors made those key stops WHEN THEY NEEDED THEM THE MOST.

That was the difference.

They eventually took down the Rockets 107-98.

Harden led the Rockets with 17 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists, while Gordon and Ariza each chipped in 15 points each.

Capela brought home 14 rebounds.

This game featured six Rox in double-figures with 32 bench points.

Lou Williams reined it in with 13 points, seven rebounds.

As for the Warriors, Stephen Curry had 24 points, seven rebounds and five dimes and Klay Thompson had 20 points, eight rebounds and four assists.

You’d think Green’s stat sheet would be fuller but he contributed a team-high eight assists with a lot of hustle and attitude to boot to help his team win.

Next: James Harden Should Rest; Priortize Team Needs

The Rockets, once again, weren’t so hot from three, nailing only 12-of-37 for 32.4 percent from behind-the-arc.

In contrast, the Warriors only made 11 out of 32 for 34.4 percent.

It was the grit, the heart and the hustle that willed our opponent tonight and nothing else.

In fact, the Rockets missed their 11 of their last 12 shots because of this.

The Rockets will now get a badly-needed day off before taking on the Phoenix Suns to close out the road trip Sunday.

See you then.

Go Rockets.

Home/Houston Rockets