Houston, TX — The Houston Rockets apparently decided they were done playing games.
After getting their collective behinds handed to them by the Golden State Warriors on Monday night, the Rockets took charge on Wednesday, holding a 14-point halftime lead en route to a 127-105 beatdown in Game Two of the Western Conference Finals.
This time, James Harden wasn’t the only one who got in on the scoring action. Chris Paul (16), Eric Gordon (27), P.J. Tucker (22) and Trevor Ariza (19) picked up their scoring output from Monday. Golden State, on the other hand, only had two players score in double figures (Kevin Durant -35; Stephen Curry – 16).
Houston got a big boost at the beginning from Arias, who scored the first four points of the game for the Rockets as they tried to establish dominance. The entire first quarter was a back-and-forth shot for the most part, as neither team mustered a big run. Houston, however, led by Gordon, went on an 8-3 run to end the first with a 26-18 lead
The second quarter was the P.J. Tucker show, as he hit it from everywhere. Need a three-pointer? Tucker made two of them. Need some midrange presence? Tucker was there, too. Scoring 12 of his 22 points in the quarter, Tucker was a big reason behind Houston taking a commanding 64-50 lead into the locker room at halftime.
If Golden State was trying to come back after halftime, it definitely didn’t look like it. Despite Kevin Durant scoring 18 points in the quarter, Houston was hitting shots from everywhere. The turning point was with 5:14 left in the third, when Chris Paul hit a step-back jumper to give the Rockets a 16-point lead that stuck for good. At the end of the third, Houston held a 95-79 lead.
The way Houston played in the fourth, Golden State might as well have packed up and gone home. Within the first three minutes, the Rockets passed the 100-point plateau, thanks to timely jumpers from Gordon and Paul. While the Warriors made a spirited effort, they were outscored 32-26 in the final frame to even the series.
The difference between games one and two was pretty evident: Houston started hitting more shots. Not only did Houston shoot 51 percent overall (45-of-88), but they beat the Warriors at their own game. Golden State shot an abysmal 9-of-30 from beyond the arc; Houston shot 16-of-42. Houston also had 11 more total rebounds (47 to 36).
Game Three will be back in Oakland on Sunday, May 20, as the Warriors will look to the Oracle Arena faithful to take a 2-1 lead in the conference finals.
