The Houston Rockets once again faced off against the Golden State Warriors, looking to tie up the best of seven series at two games a piece. Houston dominated throughout the majority of the game but a predictable Warriors run late in the fourth trimmed the lead from 17 to a single possession. Houston would hold on, however, defeating Golden State 112-108. The series is now tied at two games a piece.

Air Raid

With two of the best shooting teams in the league squaring off, someone was bound to blink. Monday night it was the Warriors. The Splash Brothers' Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry failed to live up to their nickname as they shot a collective 5-20 from beyond the arc. Golden State as a team went 8-33 (24.2%) from 3, while Houston buried 17-50 (34%). It's unlikely Houston sees another shooting performance this bad, but it was critical that they capitalized on it to even the series.

PJ part II

Once again PJ Tucker did his best Draymond Green impression, except better. The defensive juggernaut once again drew the nearly impossible task of guarding Kevin Durant and once again he got under Durant's chin, in addition to flying all over the court as we've come to expect. Tucker finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, and once again played a pivotal role in this playoff series. His numbers may not jump out every night, but Tucker is keeping Houston competitive nearly as much defensively as James Harden is offensively.

Harden erupts

James Harden knows that he will be praised or blamed for the outcome of this series. Determined to elicit the former, Harden manufactured one of the most impressive playoff performances of his career, and it could not have happened at a more crucial moment. Harden kept pace with Durant's unblockable jump shot with his dizzying handles, creating space for the open shot or catching the opponent off balance for a drive and easy layup. Harden's lethal stepback game was dialed in as well, shooting 6-17 from downtown.

Rockets player of the game

James Harden: 38 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks

Warriors player of the game

Kevin Durant: 34 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, 1 block

Next up

The Rockets travel back to the west coast for game 5 of the western conference semifinals on Wednesday at 9:30 pm, central.