The Golden State Warriors have stolen home-court advantage from the Houston Rockets with a 95-85 win in Game 1 of the Western Conference. The game was looking like a blowout when the Warriors had a 23-point lead in the third quarter, but the Rockets fought back to make it a single-possession game before the Warriors sealed the win in clutch time.
Stephen Curry was the architect of the win with 31 points (12-19 FG) and six rebounds, while co-star Jimmy Butler put up 25 points (10-19 FG), seven rebounds, six assists, and five steals in his Warriors’ Playoff debut. Brandin Podziemski was the only other Warrior to score in double-digits with 14 points (5-13 FG) with eight rebounds and five assists.
Fans are happy to see Golden State get their Playoff campaign off to a winning start.
“Death, taxes, beating up the Rockets,” said one Warriors fan given their history of beating the Rockets in the Playoffs.
“Rockets fans watching Steph Curry drain 3s from the logo for the Warriors,” said one fan feeling deja vu as Curry beat the Rockets.
“Rockets offense is making the Warriors defense look like the 2004 Pistons bro,” said a fan stunned at how poor Houston’s offense is.
“Yeah, this game solidified my belief that the Rockets have much more in the tank against the Warriors. We shot 20% from 3. Ime had terrible game management with substitutions and matchups. Most of our players didn’t come to play. Yet, this was a 4-point game in the clutch,” said an optimistic Rockets fan.
“The margin of error is so high with this garbage ass Warriors team. If the Rockets backcourt was 29th in the league and not dead last, this is a sweep,” said one fan unimpressed by both teams.
“Rockets in shambles…. They really think 90’s ball was gonna beat the Warriors. Go get KD,” said one fan, pointing out the clear solution to Houston’s offensive problems.
Even though the Rockets are the No. 2 seed and the Warriors had to advance through the Play-In tournament, the Warriors looked like the better squad by a comfortable margin tonight.
Alperen Sengun was the only Rockets player to have any offensive success tonight, putting up 26 points (11-18 FG) and nine rebounds in the loss. Jalen Green blanked in his Playoff debut with just seven points (3-15 FG) and eight rebounds, getting benched for stretches toward the end of the game.
The only Rockets outside Sengun to reach double-digits were Jabari Smith Jr. (11 PTS, 3-3 FG), Dillon Brooks (11 PTS, 3-9 FG), and Fred VanVleet (10 PTS, 4-19 FG).
Game 2 will take place on Wednesday night and will be a must-win for the Rockets before the season heads to San Francisco for Games 3 and 4.
