Forward provides big lift early
HOUSTON — Trevor Ariza was a regular in the Rockets’ starting lineup this season, but when he arrived at Toyota Center on Wednesday night, he figured he needed to glance twice at who coach Mike D’Antoni intended to trot out onto the floor.
Ariza exhaled, wiped his brow in relief and went to work.
“I was excited to be on the court tonight,” Ariza said with a smile after the Rockets whipped the Golden State Warriors 127-105 to even the Western Conference Finals at one win each.
It was no wonder Ariza was thrilled to play nearly 36 minutes, after foul trouble plagued him early in the ultra-hyped series opener, and he played a minimal role in the Warriors’ own blowout victory to get things started on Monday.
Ariza’s next job, he figured, was to toss the Rockets’ opening loss far out of his mind.
“I forgot all about Game 1,” he said. “I focused all of my thoughts on Game 2, and what I could do to help our team. Just going out there and being aggressive defensively — that’s what my team needs me to do, so that’s what I try to do.”
Ariza made his biggest impression early on the other end of the court, however. He led the way for the Rockets with 15 points at the break, one of four Rockets to score in double digits over the first two quarters.
By comparison, Warriors forward Kevin Durant, in yet another offering of what makes him one of the league’s most dominant players, had 18 points at halftime — but was the only Warrior in double digits at that point, when the Rockets led 64-50.
“They got everybody going,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said, “and we got what we deserved.”
The Rockets had the game well in hand for most of the second half, and Ariza had cooled off by then in finishing with 19 points. But his early showing — making 6 of 7 from the field in the first half — helped propel the Rockets when they needed it most.
“Everybody’s on the same page,” Ariza said of the Rockets’ collective effort on Wednesday. “Everybody understands that right now there is nothing pretty about trying to win. However you can win, you have to do it. … We’re going to continue to fight, and we’re going to continue to play hard.”
Ariza’s pinpoint passing, too, was perhaps at least as surprising as his sharpshooting and instant offense that got things rolling for the Rockets early. Ariza entered Wednesday night’s contest for the Rockets with three assists in his previous six games. He finished Wednesday with six assists, tying for the team high with Chris Paul. Defensively, Ariza entered Game 2 with 10 steals in the playoffs, and collected two more on Wednesday.
Ariza, a Game 4 hero for the Lakers in the NBA Finals in 2009, started 67 games for the Rockets in the regular season, averaging 11.7 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. One of the 32-year-old Ariza’s primary attributes to a team that hasn’t made the NBA Finals since 1995 is veteran leadership — and an occasionally strong example of what it takes to get there and win there.
His showing in the second game was a far cry from Monday, when he finished Game 1 with nearly as many fouls (five) as points (eight), and made a lone three-point attempt in five tries.
The series now shifts to Oakland for Games 3 and 4 on Sunday and Tuesday, and thanks to Ariza’s and the Rockets’ rebound on Wednesday, a Game 5 next Thursday back in Houston is guaranteed.