Game two of the Western Conference finals took place on the home court of the Golden State Warriors. Game two had a familiar feel to game one, during the early quarters the role players of both teams set the pace offensively and defensively but it were the two superstars that closed out the game for their team.
The Warriors got out of the gates fast, they were offensively in sync and were quick to loose balls while jumping out to an early 9-point lead. Stephen Curry erupted for 15 points in the opening period hitting 4 of his 4 attempts from behind the arc. In the first game Shaun Livingston came up big for his team, in game two it was another role player that stepped up. Andrew Bogut was active and he had a monster game scoring 14 points, grabbing 8 rebounds, dishing out 4 assists and blocked 5 shots. He gave the Warriors a defensive presence in the middle to counter Houston’s Dwight Howard who played despite sustaining a bruised left knee in the previous game. Dwight himself had a monstrous game scoring 19 points and grabbing 17 big rebounds to control the boards for the Rockets. The Warriors led the Rockets 36- 28 at the end on the first quarter.
The second quarter began just like the first with the Warriors firing away from behind the arc. They seemed to get whatever they wanted offensively opening up a 17 point lead on a huge one handed hammer dunk by Andre Iguodala. Stephen Curry also remained hot in the second quarter. The Rockets could not contain him, showing that they truly miss the defensive minded guard Patrick Beverly who is lost for the rest of the season. The Rockets did make a huge push toward the end of the second quarter behind the cooking of their superstar James Harden, who took the scoring load for his team as they struggled from the field. Josh Smith especially struggled and he struggled mightily, at times it seemed that he was not mentally in the game. Smith finished with 10 points on just 5-17 shooting. Another player that did not provide much for the Rockets was Trevor Ariza, he scored only 7 points and took eight shots hitting only 3. For Houston to be successful their role players must contribute offensively and defensively so that they can take some of the pressure off of James Harden. At the half the Rockets tied the game at 55.
Klay Thomspon was held to just 13 points on the night, as he was again the first line of defense against James Harden. His defensive duties once again kept him from having a major impact on the game. Harden was cooking; he unleashed his patented step back move against the Warriors, finishing with 38 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists.
The game was again decided in the final moments. With 19 seconds on the clock Curry had the ball calling for a screen behind the arc and getting a switch that resulted with Dwight Howard having to guard him. Harden quickly doubled, Curry passed the ball to a cutting Draymond Green who was diving down the lane, Green missed the shot, Harden rebounded and with roughly 7 second left dribbled down the court wanting to go to the basket but he was cut off by Curry and Thompson in the open court causing him to pass the ball to Dwight Howard who returned the pass to him creating a turn over when Curry and Thompson closed in and the game was over. The Rockets were down 0-2 in the series. What a dubious way to end the game. The ball was in the hands of the Rockets best offensive player in crunch time and he could not get a shot off.
The Warriors have the 2-0 lead going into game 3, which shifts to Houston, they must continue to be aggressive offensively and keep the pressure on the Houston guards. For the Rockets to get back into this series coach McHale should consider not switching the big onto Curry on any screens, they also need production from their role players.
Sherman Gomez:PureSportsNY