The Golden State Warriors defeated the Houston Rockets 114-81 in Game 5 on Wednesday to capture the first-round series. Donnovan Bennett offers his takeaways.
Win one for Steph
The Warriors were inspired from the opening tip even without their best player, Stephen Curry. Golden State came out of the gate with 35 points in the first, which is the highest scoring quarter in the series. The Rockets were already down 17 after one. The 33-point margin of victory was the fourth biggest in franchise playoff history. Golden State shot 41.9 per cent from three-point range and 54.9 per cent from the field. However, the defence is what was most impressive as they held Houston to 18.8 per cent from three and 32.3 per cent from the field. Draymond Green put the motivation from the missing MVP in perspective post-game, saying, “If he doesn’t make you better, you suck.”
Steph status
Curry watched this game in street clothes because of his Grade 1 right knee sprain. The plan is to reevaluate him in two weeks, which should be around Game 4 of the second round. Curry is expected to test his knee on court next week. With the Portland Trail Blazers pushing their series with the Los Angeles Clippers to at least Game 6, Curry gets a bit more time to rest.
Klay continues hot streak
Klay Thompson became the first NBA player to hit seven or more three pointers in back-to-back playoff games. Thompson finished with 27 points on 10 of 14 shooting. If there was any doubt if Thompson could carry the offensive load on his own, it was answered Wednesday night.
Harden vs. Everybody
James Harden had 25 of the Rockets’ 37 first-half points and five of Houston’s 11 turnovers. Harden finished with 35 points but was just one of two Rockets who scored in double figures. By comparison, all five Warriors started had scored by the first TV timeout of the game. In today’s NBA you can’t win with one player’s usage rate superseding the offensive flow of the entire team. As much as Harden needs offensive help, to be a truly great player he also needs to learn how to use his teammates on offence and help them become better.
Dwight is done
As time expired in the game Dwight Howard popped back behind the arc after setting a pick and upon receiving the ball hoisted a three-point attempt that badly missed. When you struggle to make free throws you probably shouldn’t be hoisting three pointers. It was the perfect representation of his time as a Rocket, which is now likely over. He wasn’t used properly, he didn’t make smart choices, played selfishly and had bad results. In actuality, it was the entire Rockets season in a nutshell. After being in the Western Conference Finals a year ago, the Rockets are out in embarrassing fashion in the first round and now are forced to reevaluate their entire approach.
Terry’s guarantee
Pre-game, Rockets guard Jason Terry guaranteed a Houston win. Terry went on to miss every shot he took in the loss. Warriors forward Marreese Speights summarized the series best, saying, “They guaranteed a win, talked about a long flight back. Only flight back to Houston now is for vacation.”
Key stat
In the final 72 minutes of the series after Curry injured his knee, Golden State outscored Houston by 60 points.
