Warriors With A Statement Win
No KD, no problem for the Warriors, as Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry handled the Rockets once again. Thompson proved himself that he deserves the max contract from the Warriors in this summer, and Curry came out alive in the second quarter to seal the deal for Golden State. Even though he had a poor shooting night once again, he somehow managed to bounce back when his team needed him the most. Klay Thompson kept them in the game in the first half, as he had 17 PTS in those two quarters, while Curry didn’t score one basket in that span. Also, he was again in foul trouble, picking two early fouls in the first quarter, which held him on the bench for quite some time. Draymond Green was also in foul trouble at some point in the 3rd, with 4 fouls and 4:54 minutes left. At that point, you expected the Rockets to make a run and go away with it, but they just didn’t seem to have enough in the tank to finish the job.
STEPH HAS COME ALIVE ? pic.twitter.com/Eu8kE5GoCT
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 11, 2019
Andre Iguoada also had a strong game, hitting 5 threes and helping the Warriors with 17 PTS and 5 huge steals. Kevon Looney also came out of nowhere and balled, scoring 14 PTS and grabbing 5 boards. Overall, this was a team effort for them, and they showed once again what they are capable of with or without Durant. They imposed the rhythm, playing their typically fast game. Usually, when opponents get in that trap and start to play the same as the Warriors, from the pace of the game point-of-view, backtracks often, and this could be seen this night, too.
Houston Rockets were in a hurry at times when they looked to be in the control of the game, so instead of calmly playing in the half-court, they tried to match Warriors’ intensity, and they failed. Last, but not least, Golden State’s bench was a big factor of tonight’s win, as they outscored the Rockets’ bench 33-17. Draymond Green flirted with a triple-double, having 8 PTS, 10 REB, 7 AST and these honest statements at the end of the game.
"I'm not gonna sit here and sugar coat it. … This one felt amazing."
—Draymond Green on the Warriors' Game 6 win in Houston pic.twitter.com/PDe8e6NwhI
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) May 11, 2019
On the other hand, it’s safe to say at this point that the Houston Rockets are a big disappointment. As a lot of people said, this was the best moment ever when they had a chance to actually beat their long time rivals. At least three games… given the fact that the Warriors’ best player was out for the series. Harden and Paul don’t have any excuses anymore, so it will be interesting to see what will happen with them during this off-season, because it’s obviously that something needs to be changed in that team.
They were bragging themselves before this series saying that they want to “run it back”, and when they finally got the chance to prove themselves, they failed big time. Despite of his high scoring game, James jacked up too many forced threes, and this costed Houston the game. After all, this is Mike D’Antoni’s style of play, everybody knows that, but it doesn’t seem to be working in the playoffs. It will be interesting to see what will happen with the Rockets this summer.
"This one's gonna leave a mark. This is not something you just get over with."
—Mike D'Antoni after the Rockets' season-ending loss to the Warriors pic.twitter.com/2jx5IFpChi
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) May 11, 2019
