A will to win produces different outcome
Harden and Co. match everything thrown at them to flip series trend
OAKLAND, Calif. — For all the Warriors’ talent, to the Rockets perhaps more than any team, there was something else that put Golden State on another echelon.
The Warriors’ gifts were undeniable, especially since they added Kevin Durant after they eliminated the Rockets for a second consecutive postseason on the way to a second straight trip to the NBA Finals. The Warriors won 73 games last season, but the Rockets were tormented by the eight consecutive regular-season losses to Golden State and the eight postseason losses (in 10 games) over the past two seasons.
The Rockets were blown out of some of those games but had chances to win others, always falling short while the Warriors moved on to the next challenge.
When they met Thursday on the floor in which Golden State almost never loses and the Warriors came in at 16-2 — don’t ever underestimate the start of a champion? — and on pace for 73 wins again.
Confident, not cocky
Finally, the Rockets took down their tormentors, and they made it a more significant accomplishment because they did it not with a magical shooting night but with the will and perseverance that always seemed to separate the teams.
“It was about the will to win,” James Harden said after the Rockets earned a 132-127 victory in double overtime. “We’re a fairly new team. Now, we know … we got a long way to go. New team. New coaching staff. But if we can put everything together — the sooner the better — we can compete with anybody.”
With the Rockets’ 12-7 start despite the NBA’s most road-heavy schedule, that did not seem to be empty talk. Only the Warriors and Spurs have more road wins than the Rockets, who have won in both Oakland and San Antonio.
After Friday’s game in Denver to end their second five-game trip, the Rockets will return to Houston for a month of games largely to be played in Toyota Center with all they could have hope for from their first 20 games.
“There’s a sense of confidence about this team,” guard Pat Beverley said. “It’s not cockiness. We are very confident that we can compete with anybody. We showed that (Thursday).”
The Rockets still consider themselves to be a work in progress. But to those who had left the Oracle Arena visiting locker room after so many losses, beating the Warriors demonstrated how things are going on the way to what they want to be.
“It’s definitely a big win for us, especially because the past few years they kicked our (butts),” forward Trevor Ariza said. “Coming in here, in a place we haven’t won in a long time and getting a win like this, it was important for us.”
Big game for Anderson
It was not always pretty, despite the combined 259 points, 27 ties or lead changes and the NBA record 88 3-pointers attempted. But to the Rockets, that made the win more meaningful. The Warriors shot typically well through much of the game, hitting 55 percent in the first half, but the Rockets generally defended well. By the second overtime, the Warriors made just 1 of 11 shots, with all but two contested.
“That was the goal,” said forward Ryan Anderson, who had a seasonhigh 29 points. “We wanted to stick with the game plan of switching, of really taking them out of what they want to do, that’s getting open looks from 3s. We … did a great job.
“Playing a team like the Warriors, you can’t stop. They’re going to make their runs. Every time they made a big play, we equaled it on the other end, made a deep transition pass to catch them off guard or make a big 3. Just answered everything they had.”
With that, the Rockets had the victory that had escaped them the past two seasons. For all the ways they still must improve, as the 120-101 loss in Utah demonstrated, the Rockets still have not lost consecutive games this season and have tangible reason to believe they are making progress.
“We have a joke with the coaches that ‘that’s a big win,’ ” Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said. “They’re all big wins. … It’s a road trip, and we’ve won three out of four so far. There are a lot of good things happening.”