Just when we thought the season was becoming to look grim for the Golden State Warriors, they once again show off their mental fortitude and pull off a huge victory against the Houston Rockets in Game 5 of their Western Conference Semifinals matchup.
The Rockets knew that they were on the brink of putting themselves in the driver’s seat in the series, which is why Wednesday night’s 104-99 defeat had a little bit more sting for Chris Paul and James Harden.
“Tough loss. We had opportunities,” Rockets guard Chris Paul, who had 11 points and missed all six of his 3-pointers, said, via Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. “We got to be better, you know what I mean, offensively, defensively, especially myself. Turnovers. We didn’t get stops when we needed to. Tough loss.”
The Warriors suffered a big blow in the third quarter as they lost superstar Kevin Durant — the man who has been leading the charge for them throughout the series — to a calf injury. This put Golden State in a precarious situation; one that the Rockets were ultimately unable to take advantage of.
“Tough one. Tough one,” Harden said. “But we’re normally capable of being better. Another opportunity on Friday.”
Harden does point out an excellent point here, as this defeat — albeit painful — does not spell the end of the world for the Rockets. Game 6 on Friday will be in Houston and the Rockets must make it three wins out of three in their home floor in the series in order to force a pivotal Game 7.
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