In a meeting of two of the most potent offenses in the NBA, the Houston Rockets bested the Golden State Warriors 132-127 in a double overtime thriller on Thursday night. Despite a game-high 39 points from Kevin Durant and multiple chances to put the game away in regulation and the first overtime, the Warriors were ultimately done in by a frigid shooting night from their All-NBA backcourt and a monster triple-double effort from the Rockets’ James Harden.
1. The Warriors were simply outplayed by a scrappier, hungrier Rockets squad. Golden State’s list of faults on this night was as long as the jumpers Ryan Anderson (29 points) rained down on them. The Dubs were sloppy with the ball early, and careless in transition defense throughout. Steph Curry and Klay Thompson shot a combined 13-of-42. Zaza Pachulia couldn’t stay in front of ball handlers or hip-check roll men, finishing with a gnarly minus-14 in only eight minutes. Harden threw up a 29-15-13 stat line and got Curry in foul trouble by drawing back-to-back infractions on the MVP. The team shot 41 percent from the field and 27 percent from deep. The offense down the stretch basically resembled Austin Powers attempting a 3-point turnabout: a lot of stopping and going, stopping and going, but not really getting anywhere…
2. …and yet, the Warriors had an opportunity to steal a win with a final shot in the fourth quarter. And when that shot went wayward, they somehow came up with a 4-point lead in overtime number 1. And even after Steph, Klay and KD missed four 3-pointers combined in the first extra session, they still had another overtime to pull the game out. It wasn’t until Curry fouled out on a dubious charge call and Draymond Green got assessed a flagrant foul that the team was finally doomed. All of which is to say: one loss in early December to a balls-to-the-wall team led by an MVP candidate does not ruin championship dreams.
3. If you don’t count the two overtime sessions where he shot 1-of-7 while jumping off tired legs that logged 47 minutes of burn, Durant was the one Warrior who had an outstanding game. In regulation, KD scored 37 points on 11-of-21 shooting and also made an incredible chase-down swat to erase a for-sure basket. Durant’s season totals thus far have been staggering, but his consistent greatness is equally impressive. Game in and game out, while Klay might have a cold shooting night, or Steph might be out of rhythm (or in this case: foul trouble), you can almost always count on Durant to net the team 27 points on an efficient 18 shots and provide moments of suffocating defense…
4. …which makes it all the more awkward that the home crowd can’t chant “MVP” when Durant is at the free-throw line when he’s clearly been the best Warrior this season.
5. Houston was methodical in hunting for Steph in every offensive set and forcing the Warriors to either send help of suffer the one-on-one disadvantage. When the Warriors did double, or got caught in a slow switch, the Rockets were able to repeatedly swing the ball to find the open man. For a team that relies so heavily on Harden’s singular brilliance, the Rockets were able to get a balanced scoring attack with seven guys in double figures. The defense might be tofu soft, but Mike D’Antoni has gotten this team’s offense rock solid.
6. Andre Iguodala was 3-of-4 for 10 points and had another impressive two-way performance. Which makes it all the more perplexing that he repeatedly turned down wide open jumpers when the offense was completely stalled down the stretch. Just like in the last two playoffs, teams are going to dare Igoudala to hit those give-mes and eventually it’d be nice to see Andre start taking them (if not making them).
7. Draymond had 20 points, 15 rebounds and 9 assists, but was assessed a Flagrant 1 foul after his shoe connected with Harden’s head. It doesn’t matter whether there was intent behind the kick, when you have a rule named after you, you know the officials will be looking at every contact a little more carefully. Dray has to find a way to stop swinging his legs into people’s domes and private parts.
8. Apparently Eric Gordon is still alive. After an injury-plagued 5-year run in New Orleans where he averaged a less-than-robust 45 games per season, the silky shooter is finding a nice rhythm off the Rockets’ bench. Gordon had 23 points on 9-of-19 shooting and, more importantly, kept the Rockets’ offense afloat while Harden was resting. After signing a huge deal in the offseason, he’s rewarding the Rockets with 16 points a game in 32 minutes of action. It feels like Gordon has been in the league forever but he’s somehow only 15 months older than Klay.
9. Montrezl Harrell’s athleticism and energy devoured the Warriors’ centers down low. The 6′ 8″ big man was able to beast McAdoo and David West for 13 points and 10 boards. Last season the Dubs could summon Festus Ezeli to meet force with force, but this year there doesn’t look to be someone of that nature to call on unless you think Damian jones is going to crack the rotation sometime soon.
10. Steve Kerr made it clear he cares more about “slippage” than he does win totals. After this loss, the Warriors are “only” on pace to win 69 games: most likely enough for a 1-seed in the West, but not enough to make headlines or hinder post-season goals.