The Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors faced off Saturday night on ABC. It definitely became the game of the weekend with several story and headlines coming into the game. The Rockets were without James Harden, who had a neck injury along with flu-like symptoms. They did have a healthy Chris Paul who really stepped up scoring two clutch free throws with 1:08 left. Paul lead the Rockets to their 118-112 victory with 23 points. One of the most notable themes throughout the game was how the Rockets had control from the very beginning.
There were many highlights for the Rockets in this game. Along with his 23 points, Chris Paul also went off for a season high of 17 assists. 11 of those assists came in the first half, reaching 9000 in his career thus far. Eric Gordon racked up 25 points. Recently acquired Kenneth Faried also stepped up, starting in the place of James Harden. He ended the night with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Houston ran away from the Warriors with a 15-0 start to the game.
With this win Saturday night, the Rockets have put the Warriors on notice. The message being that they are a real threat and a force to be reckoned with. Momentum is on the Rockets side as last night’s win brings them to 3-0 against the Warriors in the regular season. We’ll see how this series ends when Golden State goes to Houston for their final match up on March 13.
The Rockets are no strangers to being in this position with the Warriors, having enjoyed a similar narrative last season. It propelled Rockets big man Clint Capela to boldly proclaim that the Rockets was the better team. Let’s not forget how Houston took the Warriors to 7 games in last year’s West Conference final. The story however ended with a Chris Paul hamstring injury. After losing their 3-2 series lead, many within the Rockets organization noted how close things were, stating they were “a hamstring away from a championship”. So while the Rockets have been coming up big so far against the Warriors, the attitude and theme after last night’s game is one of focus and not just blind confidence.
Chris Paul summed it up best. All of this in the regular means nothing.
“You can come in here and win on a Monday night in February or a Tuesday night in November or December, but in the playoffs, it’s when you’ve got to beat a team four out of seven times,” Paul said. “It’s great we won tonight, but in two days, you’ll forget this. We all will.”
