After the Houston Rockets were humiliated in Game 3 by the defending champs, we thought this series was over. No way James Harden and Chris Paul, known to choke in the playoffs, can beat the three point snipers.
Well momentum changed at Warriors home as the Rockets came full throttle and took Game 4 winning 95 to 92. You can sit here and say Andre Iguodala was out with a leg contusion and Klay Thompson banged his knee in the second quarter but these two factors changed nothing as the Warriors outscored the Rockets 34 to 17 in the third. Plus, the Warriors had the last possession to win it and Kevin Durant told ESPN it shouldn’t of came to last shot where Thompson was trapped and was forced to throw a ill-advised shot.
“I raced it down. I was trying to see if I had some options. I saw Klay running along the baseline and maybe should have waited until he set his feet, but I just threw a bounce pass and tried to relocate for it.
But, man, that’s not the reason we lost the game. I wish it could have been a better possession at the end, but, you know, we’ve got to live with that and move on and be better next game“
A clutch shot is not always the last shot of the game. It can be a shot that puts the team in a better position like Steph Curry’s threes in the third quarter in Game 3.
“It’s the whole game that we’ve got to get better at, especially in the fourth,” Durant said.
The difference between Game 3’s blowout and Game 4 is the Warriors shot at 39% from the field versus 52% plus their three percentage dropped from 41 to 33%.
Green said, “We know we made a lot of mistakes down the stretch in that fourth quarter. So, we’ll be fine.”
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said fatigue played a role down the stretch.
For the Warriors to win in Game 5, and it will be hard in Houston, they must shoot and rebound like Game 3 plus stop sending Rockets to the free throw line as the Rockets went to the line 27 times last night. I’m expecting Iguodala to be back next game but the Rockets will prepare for his return.