Trouble in Oakland? Rockets Use Big Fourth Quarter, Beat Warriors at Oracle
After falling down 12-0 early on in Game 4, the Houston Rockets looked down and out of this game. It took until 6:42 remained in the first for Houston to finally get a basket to fall, but they continued to fight back. Overcoming a surge by the Golden State Warriors in the third, Houston gutted out a 95-92 win on the road in Oracle Arena.
In doing so, the Rockets kept themselves in the series, tying it at two a piece headed back to Houston, reclaimed home-court advantage, and ended the Warriors 16-game win streak at home in the playoffs which dated back to the beginning of last year's playoffs. Now with the series shifting back to Houston, can Golden State steal another win on the road or are they in danger now of losing the series?
With Andre Iguodala out due to a left lateral leg contusion, the Warriors were forced to start second year player Kevon Looney at center in his first ever playoff game. He played 26 minutes, scoring four points, grabbed five boards, and committed five fouls in the game. Needless to say, Iguodala's presence on the floor was missed in this one when it came to the defensive end of the ball. Nonetheless, the Warriors jumped out to 12-0 lead on Houston and seemed to be in full control early on. By the end of the first they were up 28-19 as turnovers and poor shooting doomed the Rockets in the start of this one.
But the Rockets came out firing in the second quarter, slowly chipping away at the Golden State lead. Trailing 43-41 with 3:06 remaining in the second, Houston began a 12-3 run to finish off the half and take a 53-46 lead going into the break. A huge reason for this run was the Warriors making careless turnovers that resulted in points at the other end for the Rockets. Over the final two minutes of the second, Golden State committed two turnovers which resulted in four Houston points, went 0-for-3 from three-point range, and 0-for-1 from the field. Their lone three points during Houston's run came on Kevin Durant's free throws, which resulted from a shooting foul committed by P.J. Tucker when Durant was attempting a three.
But the Warriors are known for their explosive third quarters coming out of the halftime break and last night was no different. Houston weathered the storm for a large portion of the third, finding themselves up by five halfway through the frame. But then Stephen Curry came alive with the Warriors trailing 62-57. Curry scored Golden State's next eight points, going 2-for-2 from three, 1-for-1 from the field, and leading the team on his own 8-3 run which gave them a three point edge. The run continued for the rest of the quarter with baskets by Klay Thompson, Jordan Bell, and Kevin Durant as well to help the Warriors finish the quarter on a 23-8 run and hold a 80-70 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
But just like they did earlier in the night, the Rockets responded and got themselves back into the game. Despite James Harden scoring just two points in the fourth which were part of a 30 point performance on the night, the rest of the Rockets offense stepped up in the latter part of the game. Shooting 3-for-11 from three in the fourth, the Rockets used a 15-4 run to take the lead 85-84 before both teams fought back and forth for the win in Game 4. The difference maker would be the inability for Golden State to get their offense going in the final quarter. The Warriors missed 15 of their 18 shots taken in the quarter including 0-for-6 from three-point land and turned the ball over four times resulting in five Houston points during the final 12 minutes. A combination of poor shooting and turnovers similar to the end of the second quarter doomed the Warriors, preventing them from taking full control of the series.
Now with Golden State's rare home loss, the Houston Rockets are in full control of home-court advantage again. It will be up to the Warriors to steal Game 5 on the road on Thursday if they want a chance to close out the series at home in Oracle Arena. If James Harden does not fade away in the second half like he did last night, Golden State could find themselves in trouble for the rest of this series. This is a Warriors team coming into the series that finished off their last six playoff opponents in five games or less to the tune of a 24-3 record since their NBA Finals loss in 2016. Now they face territory unfamiliar to them for quite some time and it is time to see whether or not they can handle the pressure.
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