Kudos to Houston for simply outworking the Warriors in the 4th quarter to even up the series. Not a fan at all of CP3, but no doubt he has brought an added level of toughness to the Rockets they’ve been lacking. Harden was doing his normal second half disappearing act, but they were not to be denied.

Thought the refs kind of blew this at the end. I thought the game should have ended without a foul yet they awarded the Warriors with a foul. Chris Paul missed a free throw and that allowed the Warriors to get a shot in the air that would've tied it.

The Warriors just quit playing after the run in the 3rd. Then when Houston took the lead back, GS got careless with the ball and were taking terrible shots. Houston is too good for that. It’s still the Warriors’ to lose, IMO. Game of the Year for Houston coming up.

@TheDeuce

 

Agree. Way to many bad 3s by the Warriors.

The Warriors just quit playing after the run in the 3rd. Then when Houston took the lead back, GS got careless with the ball and were taking terrible shots. Houston is too good for that. It’s still the Warriors’ to lose, IMO. Game of the Year for Houston coming up.

Golden State is maddening to watch because at times they look like one of the greatest teams in NBA history. Then, after they show that to everybody, they go about business in the Steph Curryish nonchalant type way with lazy behind the back passes and seem disinterested. It caught up with them this game. And while Golden State is to blame for that, all credit goes to Houston for upping their energy level and taking it to them. They held the Warriors to three field goals in the fourth quarter. Also need to give props to Trevor Ariza and PJ Tucker for bringing it on defense each possession. I am not shocked Houston won, I am shocked how they won.

Golden State is maddening to watch because at times they look like one of the greatest teams in NBA history. Then, after they show that to everybody, they go about business in the Steph Curryish nonchalant type way with lazy behind the back passes and seem disinterested. It caught up with them this game. And while Golden State is to blame for that, all credit goes to Houston for upping their energy level and taking it to them. They held the Warriors to three field goals in the fourth quarter. Also need to give props to Trevor Ariza and PJ Tucker for bringing it on defense each possession. I am not shocked Houston won, I am shocked how they won.

 

Totally agree. When they are firing on all cylinders and playing well they are literally unbeatable. Too often, though, they get lackadaisical and play very sloppy for stretches. Houston is probably the only team left that can beat them when they have those lapses.

The last few games in both series have shown us once again that effort, toughness and defense are still what wins championships.

Golden State is maddening to watch because at times they look like one of the greatest teams in NBA history. Then, after they show that to everybody, they go about business in the Steph Curryish nonchalant type way with lazy behind the back passes and seem disinterested. It caught up with them this game. And while Golden State is to blame for that, all credit goes to Houston for upping their energy level and taking it to them. They held the Warriors to three field goals in the fourth quarter. Also need to give props to Trevor Ariza and PJ Tucker for bringing it on defense each possession. I am not shocked Houston won, I am shocked how they won.

 

I agree but it comes with the territory. If you press, you're going to get turnovers but you're going to give up lay-ups. You have to live with that sometimes. If you are the best passing team in the league and your goal is 300+ passes per game, you're going to lead the league in assists but you're going to have a lot of turnovers too. Making shots has a lot to do with it too--when you're hitting, you look great; when you're not, you look terrible.

Crazy back and forth game with the quarter scores:

 

Houston 19 34 17 25 - 95

GoldenSt 28 18 34 12 - 92

AI missing the game turned out to be huge. Livingston and Young were -15 and -14 in just 15 and 14 minutes, respectively.

I agree but it comes with the territory. If you press, you're going to get turnovers but you're going to give up lay-ups. You have to live with that sometimes. If you are the best passing team in the league and your goal is 300+ passes per game, you're going to lead the league in assists but you're going to have a lot of turnovers too. Making shots has a lot to do with it too--when you're hitting, you look great; when you're not, you look terrible.

In a vacuum, sure. But this is Golden State with three of the greatest shooters of all time on their roster.

 

Golden State is one of the better teams in the league at taking care of the ball. There is a difference in turnovers from action being forced, then there are the Golden State turnovers I speak of where Steph will throw a behind the back pass for no reason into the third row. It is part of their general snobbishness.

In a vacuum, sure. But this is Golden State with three of the greatest shooters of all time on their roster.

 

Golden State is one of the better teams in the league at taking care of the ball. There is a difference in turnovers from action being forced, then there are the Golden State turnovers I speak of where Steph will throw a behind the back pass for no reason into the third row. It is part of their general snobbishness.

 

They are 26th in the league in turnovers.

They are 26th in the league in turnovers.

 

I was looking per possession and saw 22nd and thinking that was a good thing. I stand (partially) corrected.