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SteemSports Editor:
The Houston Rockets gave us one of their gutsiest performances of the year in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals to defeat the Golden State Warriors 95-92 and tie the series 2-2. James Harden (30 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks, 11/26) and Chris Paul (27 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 10/20) both had huge games on offense and some spectacular moments on defense. Steph Curry (28 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 10/26), and Kevin Durant (27 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists, 9/24) led the Warriors in scoring while Draymond Green (11 points, 14 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals, 1 block) facilitated and pitched in across the board.
Golden State slipped Kevon Looney into the 5 spot of their starting lineup to adapt to Andre Iguodala's absence from injury. It worked pretty well as the Warriors got out to a 12-0 lead to start the quarter before Houston scored their first bucket. The Warriors distributed their buckets all throughout the roster just like in the previous three games, and their defense was looking fierce. Jordan Bell had a booming, authoritative block on Clint Capela in the paint which hyped the hell out of the Oakland home crowd. Golden State led after one 28-19.
Klay Thompson banged his right knee on the ground to start the second quarter and had to head to the locker room. He ended up coming back after several minutes but the Rockets climbed back into the game while he was out. James Harden threw down a MONSTROUS dunk on Draymond Green to swing the momentum and narrow it a three-point game, 33-36. He already had 19 points with six minutes left in the second quarter.
James Harden and Eric Gordon were the main bucket collectors for the Rockets while guys like P.J. Tucker were battling it out on the defensive end. Houston went on a 16-2 run and went up 5 points on the defending champs, 50-43. James Harden was actually picking some pockets at the top of the arc! It was pretty exciting to see him expend energy on defense. He had two straight plays where he stole it at half court and ran back the other end for transition points. Houston was heating up from beyond the arc and even went up by 10 points, 53-43. They outscored Golden State 34-18 in the second quarter thanks to intensified defense and fine three-point shooting. They were up 53-46 after the buzzer sounded to end the half. Steph Curry picking up three fouls helped Houston go on their run too.
At the start of the third, the Warriors slowly scraped back to make it a three-point game, 53-56. They got close, but they made some dumb turnovers (Klay was making a lot of them). When the score was 62-57, Steph Curry pulled up and drained a three from basically half court. It was just like in Game 3 where he came alive in the latter half of the third quarter. After that happened I knew the next three was going in - and sure enough it did. That put Golden State back in the lead 63-62. That was the start of a 16-3 Warriors run that saw them jump ahead by 9, 73-62. It was the Curry show once again in the third quarter. He shimmied and rained triples all over the Rockets, and the Warriors entered the fourth back up by 10, 80-70.
The Rockets responded by kicking off a 9-2 run to start the fourth. The teams traded buckets but Houston quickly got it down to a 2-point game, and then grabbed the lead back on a Trevor Ariza three, 85-84. Then it became nervous time. Things got tense and the game became competitive once more and the teams traded one and two-point leads. An Eric Gordon three put the Rockets up by 5, 94-89. Golden State narrowed it to 91-94 off a pair of Durant free throws. The Warriors tried tying it with a bunch of three's...but they couldn't hit anything! Houston wasn't making any shots to ice the game it either.
Then with about eleven seconds left and down by 2, Durant brought the ball up the court in transition and Steve Kerr didn't call a timeout. They ended up scrambling and shoveling it to Klay Thompson for an ill-advised turnaround fadeaway. There was some discrepancy with the shot clock and a foul, which sent Chris Paul to the line to shoot free throws. He hit one of two and Golden State had another shot with .5 left on the clock. Steph Curry was given the opportunity for a wide-open game-tying three on the baseline...but he couldn't hit that either! The Houston Rockets battled their asses off for a heart-pounding 95-92 victory.
The Golden State Warriors only scored 12 points in the fourth quarter. Chris Paul and James Harden played like the stars they were, but they got fantastic contributions from PJ Tucker on defense and on the glass (16 rebounds). The Warriors probably should've called a timeout in that last transition play once they saw the play wasn't going anywhere. Now the series is tied at 2-2 and what once seemed like a dull, Golden State beatdown of a saga looks more competitive than we thought. I don't think anyone is putting it past the Warriors to win two straight and advance to the NBA Finals, but what we saw from Houston in Game 4 was promising. Game 5 will take place on Thursday back in Houston.
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