Game 3 makes clear gulf between teams
Chris Paul was invisible for way too long.
Mike D’Antoni’s team was down by 21 points just as the third quarter was firing up.
Stephen Curry had Oracle Arena screaming “Warrrrrrriors” like it was the Finals.
And that fiery, gritty, proud team from Houston that owned Game 2 of the Western Conference finals?
It’s anyone’s guess what happened to those Rockets on the flight to California. But on Sunday night by The Bay, the no-show Rockets returned once again at the worst possible time.
It was 126-85 Golden State in Game 3. The 41-point blowout easily could have been by 50.
The Warriors were that good. And the Rockets were that bad — disappointing, lackadaisical, out of sync — and are two defeats away from their season suddenly being over.
Show up like that in what could be a series-defining Game 3 — even saying the Rockets showed up Sunday is a stretch — and that’s what you get.
You don’t mess around with the Warriors. The Rockets have done it twice and are down 2-1 in a series they were supposedly waiting all season for.
“We didn’t switch up into people, we didn’t box out. … Played soft, actually,” said coach Mike D’Antoni, who stressed several times after the worst playoff defeat in franchise history that his team didn’t play with enough “force” and overall did little right in Game 3.
Curry (game-high 35 points) came alive and the Warriors now have four games left to win two.
Paul didn’t arrive until midway through the third period, James Harden shot only 7-of-16 from the field and Game 2 hero P.J. Tucker scored six points. The stars and the reserves were missing, like the Rockets’ heart.
Asked about D’Antoni calling the team “soft,” the NBA’s expected MVP didn’t disagree.
“He’s right,” Harden said. “We weren’t as aggressive as we needed to be. … They didn’t feel us, and it showed.”
D’Antoni was too slow on the trigger. Trevor Ariza was too quiet. Clint Capela began hot, then faded.
But the worst part about Game 3 was the Rockets’ lack of fire and pride just one game after they took Golden State.
“You just can’t allow it to happen,” Harden said.
All those pre-series predictions of Warriors in five?
After Curry drilled another stop-and-pop three, then motioned to an adoring crowd, I was reminded why there was more than a little truth to the nationwide feeling that the Warriors might fly by a 65-win team.
Golden State is playing for its fourth straight NBA Finals appearance and third ring since 2015.
The Rockets can unleash a brilliant Game 2, wake up the league, then get run out of Golden State’s gym.
There’s too much on the line for the Rockets’ stars to be explaining why their team didn’t give enough effort — again.
“We’ve got to be better. … We’ve got to come out more aggressive,” said Paul, who scored 10 of his 13 points in the second half, while the Warriors outscored the Rockets 72-42.
Paul didn’t score in the first quarter, in which Harden was held to three points on 1-of-4 shooting. The Warriors’ starters combined for 28 points, and Golden State’s 10 fastbreak points captured a period that swung hard to the Warriors.
The Rockets trailed by 11 at halftime, but it felt like 20, and they were one quick Warriors run away from being down 2-1 with Game 4 back at roaring Oracle. D’Antoni’s team was also just 11-of-25 in the paint, blowing layups and put-backs, almost daring Golden State to turn Game 3 into another oneteam show.
The Warriors finally did after the break, opening with a 10-0 run that was ended only by a D’Antoni timeout that arrived about five points too late.
“They scored five, six, seven straight points and it wasn’t enough force again,” the coach said.
Curry’s fifth three of the night gave him 35 points with more than six minutes to go. The Rockets had all of 78 points and trailed by 29.
The golden confetti was waiting to fall.
Through three games, Golden State has clearly been the better team.
In Game 3, we again saw the distance that separates a franchise that hangs championship banners and a 65-win team now fighting to stay alive.