For three-and-a-half quarters, the Rockets utterly dominated the Golden State Warriors, leading by more than 30 and looking, for once, like the No. 2 seed. Then, Warriors coach Steve Kerr inserted his bench things nearly went sideways. The Rockets saw their lead cut to 13 and the return of their starters to hold on to win game five 131-116. For most of the game, it wasn’t even that close, but things happen.
Having won the first of their must-win contests, the Rockets head back to the Bay Area for Game 6, a place where they have only won once in the history of the two teams’ playoff meetings. Let’s discuss Game 5.
The offense explodes.
The Rockets dropped 40 in the first and 36 in the second to take a 76-49 halftime lead. Defensively, they continued to be as good as they have been, but hot shooting from multiple players including Fred VanVleet took the game out of reach early. VanVleet finished with 26 including four threes. Amen Thompson looked like a different basketball player and led the team with the ungodly stat line of 25 points, 6 rebounds, 5 steals and 3 blocks. Dillon Brooks pitched in 24. Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun combined for 26 points, 17 rebounds and 11 assists.
Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler packed it in.
Maybe they preferred to try and win it at home, but neither of the Warriors big stars seemed all that into Game 5. Curry had 13 points and Butler just 8 on 2-10 shooting. Golden State’s best player was Moses Moody who did most of his damage after the starters were pulled in the third quarter.
About those free throws…
After missing way too many freebies in the previous two games, the Rockets managed to go 32-38 from the charity stripe in Game 5. They still missed 6, but it was a huge improvement in a game where they didn’t really need them. Let’s hope they bring that same focus to Game 6. They can’t miss double digit free throws again and expect to bring the series back to Houston.
Despite the win, this team doesn’t feel quite ready.
The Rockets biggest stars are barely old enough to legally drink, so it make sense that they would struggle a bit in their first taste of the postseason, but there is something tentative about this team that feels almost like a deer caught in the headlights. The players even admitted it after Game 4. It’s absolutely fantastic experience for a bunch of young guys learning together and, in some ways, the Warriors and their veteran know-how is the perfect opponent. But, it would be more fun if the Rockets felt just slightly more prepared than it has felt so far.
