Rockets Comeback Falls Short, Warriors Travel By Houston, 106-104
Hosed. Good Loss. Wake-Up Call.
Houston kept the game close, but their comeback ultimately came up short. The Rockets sweep attempt of the Warriors came up short on Wednesday night. The Warriors walked away with the victory after the Rockets had stormed back from a 14-point fourth quarter deficit. The refs, on the other hand, were tired, and wanted to go home. It was a late start. The latest in Houston all season. The game started at 8:30 PM local time and by the time the seconds were winding down to end the game, the officials simply didn’t care to if Stephen Curry travelled or not. And Curry did travel. Blatantly. In one of the most egregiously missed calls I’ve ever witnessed, they allowed the one-way player to hop, and then dribble again, essentially travelling and committing a double-dribble violation on the same play. Nonetheless, Houston should have won. The officials will never get it right. The Rockets have to know this by now, and they can’t afford to fall behind. Still, with poor officiating, the team never gave up and fought back to almost win in a valiant effort.
There’s no such thing as a good loss. However, for Houston, Wednesday night’s defeat was nothing to be ashamed of, compared to other losses this season. You could even say they returned to their earlier season trend of playing down to their competition. Despite the victory, Golden State didn’t play great. The Rockets defense wasn’t as good as it had been in recent games, but it still held the Warriors to 106 points, well below their average. If Houston’s offense hadn’t disappeared, they would have easily won Wednesday’s contest. The Rockets shots just weren’t falling, and the offense got stagnant at times in the game. Houston’s at their best when the ball is moving and everyone is getting in on the action.
The Rockets needed a wake-up call. They were cruising through the regular season. And, their confidence was getting too high after winning 9 in row. The squad needed a reality-check. Like the best NCAA teams, it’s always good to get at least a few losses instead of going into the tournament undefeated, therefore you’ve measured some adversity in the past. After cruising through the East’s elite, the Rockets got a slight check back to reality with their narrow loss to Golden State. Houston has plenty to work on. Integrating Nene into the rotation to help on DeMarcus Cousins, when these two squads inevitably meet again in the Western Conference Finals this May. And, most importantly, plugging Danuel House Jr. back into the lineup. House provided valuable assets for the squad, and when he played on the floor, the Rockets performed at a higher level. Until then, Houston will look to wade through the rest of the regular season and get the 2 or 3 seed for the playoffs. And when they meet Golden State, it should be close, but the Rockets will be ready, having learned from their mistakes.