Eason’s heroics aren’t nearly enough
To the Rockets, the Warriors did not look anything like a team that came to town with an 11-game road losing streak.
But to the Warriors, the Rockets might not have looked like a team that had already lost 53 games.
Looks can be deceiving, but so can losing streaks.
The Warriors’ much discussed and perplexing road skid ended when they pulled away in the fourth quarter to top the Rockets 121-108 on Monday night at Toyota Center. They never led by double digits until they hit the accelerator to leave the Rockets behind, scoring 37 fourth-quarter points to blow open what had been a tight game.
The Rockets, playing without Alperen Sengun, who was out with an illness, and Jae’Sean Tate, who was held out for the second half of the back-toback for injury management, kept the game tight, with Tari Eason starting and matching his career high with 21 points, adding 12 rebounds and four steals. Jalen Green had 20 points as every starter scored in double figures.
But when the Rockets could not get stops in the fourth quarter, with the Warriors finally taking care of the ball, they could not keep pace.
The Warriors rolled to start the fourth quarter, going from up four to a 16point lead. But the Rockets closed to within 10 and a longshot chance after Eason took his fourth steal to a breakaway dunk, giving him 19 points to go with 11 rebounds in his start.
The Rockets cut the lead to single digits, Kevin Porter Jr. knocking down three free throws with 2:10 remaining. Klay Thompson missed a corner 3-pointer and Jabari Smith Jr. rushed to a layup that brought the Rockets to within seven.
This time, Thompson hit from the corner, giving him 29 points and the Warriors a safe 10-point lead with 1:28 left.
Stephen Curry added a last 3-pointer to give him 30 points after his scoreless opening quarter, and a reminder that the Warriors, for all their troubles away from home, might not have changed that much after all.
Fourth and win
The Rockets hung around all night. They usually do.
It took only a few possessions to start the fourth quarter to see that the Warriors had another gear. They usually do.
Even in the Warriors’ oddly up-and-down season, with homecourt excellence and road struggles, the fourth quarter began, and the Warriors moved in for the kill.
Curry twice finished drives, then nailed a 3 before setting up Jonathan Kuminga for a breakaway slam. With that, the Warriors were off and running.
They had spent the game missing 3s and turning the ball over. But the fourth quarter is winning time to a team still accustomed to winning.
In the first six minutes of the fourth quarter, the Warriors made 9 of 11 shots, including 4 of 5 3s, to score 24 points and open a 15point lead.
The Rockets, playing the second half of a back-toback shorthanded, might have hit a wall. They made 1 of 6 3s to open the fourth quarter. But the Warriors had removed the sloppiness, cranked up the intensity, and sent the Rockets and the road losing streak packing as soon as the fourth quarter began.
Opportunity knocks
The Rockets were in the game at halftime, down just 55-50. But there was a sense that they were on borrowed time, or at least, had wasted an opportunity.
The Warriors were remarkably sloppy with the ball, committing 14 turnovers in the half. They did not shoot well from deep, making 7 of 23 3s. Curry had spotted them the first quarter, not scoring at all until he had 15 in the second quarter. Jordan Poole made just one shot.
Yet, the Rockets didn’t take advantage for the usual reasons.
They could not take care of the ball, either, and they could not shoot.
This tends to happen. Though they have improved at taking care of the ball, they still lead the NBA in turnovers. And they have the worst 3-point percentage in the league.
That makes for a very tough matchup with the Warriors. Though the Warriors’ road woes have not extended to their 3point shooting, where they have the second-best shooting percentage on the road in the NBA, they have not defended the 3-point line. In road games, they surrender the second-best 3-point shooting percentage.
The Rockets, however, are not equipped to take advantage of that at home or on the road. They made just 4 of 17 3s in the first half. Green, Smith and Porter were the only Rockets to make any and Porter was just 1 of 4, 1 of 5 overall.
They had a half to get that right. But when it comes to getting open 3s to fall, there is not an adjustment to make, having spent the season unable to find it.
Missing stars
The Rockets’ homestand was filled with teams playing shorthanded, as is frequently the case this season. In their six games, they did not play against Robert Williams, Anthony Davis, LeBron James, Zion Williamson and Andrew Wiggins.
On Monday, however, the Rockets were without Sengun and Tate. And though neither has been confused for James or Davis, except on Twitter, they were missed. More than that, playing shorthanded was a reminder that the Rockets played long stretches of the season without Tate and without Porter.
That’s part of life in the NBA, but the Rockets were not equipped to play without two of their top seven players. Next man up sounds good. It must since players say it so often. But for the Rockets, Tate, Porter and K.J. Martin are the three most veteran players who actually play.