The 2-Man Game: The Rockets need to put iso-ball to the side
Rockets Rundown
Mario Elie and Joel Blank
16 May 2018
The Rockets did not get the results they were looking for in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals against the Warriors. They need to make some adjustments before Game 2 and one of those should be limiting the iso-ball. Mike D'Antoni needs to get more players involved in the offense, and that can also lead to guys playing better on the defensive end of the court as well. Also, if the Rockets truly are the deeper team, they have to get more out of their role players. Those guys are going to struggle to do anything if they never touch the ball. Finally, the Rockets need to shake some things up on defense and give the Warriors some different looks.
Rockets advance to NBA Cup semifinals after thrilling win over Warriors
Dec 11, 2024, 11:50 pm
Jalen Green made two free throws with 3.5 seconds left and the Houston Rockets beat the Golden State Warriors 91-90 on Wednesday night to advance to the NBA Cup semifinals in Las Vegas.
Houston snapped a 15-game skid against the Warriors, winning for the first time in the series since Feb. 20, 2020. The Rockets will face Oklahoma City, which beat Dallas in the other West quarterfinal game on Tuesday night, in the semifinals on Saturday.
Alperen Sengun led the Rockets with 26 points and 11 rebounds and Jabari Smith Jr. added 15 points.
Houston led by 14 before falling behind late to set up the thrilling finish.
Houston trailed by six with about 1 1/2 minutes left before Fred VanVleet made a 3-pointer and Sengun added a layup with 27 seconds to go to cut the lead to one.
Stephen Curry missed a 3-pointer with 11 seconds left and Gary Payton II grabbed the rebound, but Green intercepted his pass and was fouled by Jonathan Kuminga to set up the winning free throws.
The Warriors had a chance to win it at the buzzer but Smith blocked Brandin Podziemski’s 3-point attempt.
Takeaways
Warriors: Golden State beat the Rockets twice this season without Curry before losing Wednesday in a game where he had 19 points.
Rockets: This young team showed poise in finishing this one after squandering a double-digit lead.
Key moment
Green’s hustle on getting the ball late to draw the foul to set up the winning free throws.
Key stat
Houston won despite making just 6 of 27 3-pointers.
Up next
While Houston heads to Las Vegas this weekend, the Warriors will return to regular-season play Sunday at Dallas.
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