NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS
Fred Faour: 5 quick thoughts on the Rockets' Game 4 win over the Warriors
May 22, 2018, 10:39 pm
Chris Paul came up huge. Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
The Rockets came back from their 41-point Game 3 loss to beat the Warriors 95-92 and even the Western Conference Finals at 2-2. Five quick observations on the win:
Paul came to play: Chris Paul was terrible in the Game 3 loss, but he came up huge when it mattered. He scored 27 points and carried the Rockets to victory. He hit big shots, played great defense and was clutch.
A tale of two Hardens: James Harden played like one of the game’s best in the first half to keep the Rockets in the game. But he managed just six points in the second half and missed several chances to close out the game down the stretch. He needs to put two halves together, but his first half performance was key.
Defense! Defense! The Rockets were terrific on defense, especially down the stretch when their offense faltered. Holding the Warriors to just 92 points was huge. The Warriors don't have many 12-point quarters, but that is what happened in the fourth.
Turnovers, again. The team winning the turnover battle has won all four games. The Rockets just had 10, while the Warriors had 16.
Overcoming a bad start: The Rockets were in a 12-0 hole before you could blink. But they recovered and ended Golden State’s homecourt playoff winning streak. It was a big win. The Rockets were down by 12 in the fourth and still pulled it off.
The bottom line: The Rockets had to have this. They could not go down 3-1. Proving they could win at Oracle was huge. They tried to give it away late, but the Warriors struggled down the stretch, too. The Rockets now return home with a chance to go up 3-2 and we now officially have a competitive series.
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Fred VanVleet scored 37 points and the surging Houston Rockets won their ninth straight, beating the Miami Heat 102-98 Friday night.
VanVleet shot 13 for 17 from the field and made a season-high 9 of 11 3-pointers as the Rockets extended the league’s longest active winning streak. Houston also snapped a nine-game skid against Miami, which lost its 10th straight. It is the Heat’s longest skid since they lost 11th straight in 2007-08.
Amen Thompson returned after missing the last six games because of a sprained left ankle and finished with 18 points and seven steals while Dillon Brooks and Jabari Smith each added 11 points for the Rockets.
Houston rallied from an 11-point deficit early in the third quarter and got to 80-78 on Jalen Green’s jumper to close the period.
Miami’s Andrew Wiggins scored 30 points, his highest total since the Heat acquired him from Golden State for Jimmy Butler on Feb. 6. Kel’el Ware had 16 points and 14 rebounds, while Bam Adebayo also scored 16 points for the Heat.
Takeaways
Rockets: Houston remained second in the Western Conference.
Heat: Miami squandered its 20th double digit lead that led to a loss. Wiggins’ jump shot two minutes into the third period put the Heat ahead 65-54 before Houston rallied.
Key moment
VanVleet went on a personal 9-2 run to start the fourth that put the Rockets ahead for good. He hit two 3-pointers, a lay-up and made 1 of 2 free throws that gave Houston an 87-84 lead.
Key stat
The Rockets outrebounded the Heat 46-34 for their eighth consecutive game of winning the rebounding edge against their opponent.
Up next
Rockets host Denver on Sunday, and Heat host Charlotte.