The Houston Rockets overcame a 10-point fourth quarter deficit to beat the Golden State Warriors 95-92 in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals, tying the series at two games each.
The win ended Golden State’s 16-game home playoff winning streak, a record run that dated back to last season’s playoffs.
Harden, Paul Power Rockets
Game 4 of the series featured a number of momentum swings, with the Warriors dominating both the first and third quarters. Each time, however, the Rockets were able to respond. They won the second quarter by a 34-18 margin to take a seven-point halftime lead, then held Golden State to just 12 points in the fourth quarter.
The Rockets were once again led by James Harden, who scored 30 points, and Chris Paul, who added 27. But despite the fact that the Houston offense ran largely through their two stars, Harden still wanted to spread the credit around after the game.
“We’re a team,” Harden told reporters. “We’re really good as a team.”
Durant Regrets Key Possession
The Warriors were similarly led by two of their stars, with Stephen Curry pouring in 28 point and Kevin Durant contributing 27 point and 12 rebounds. But afterwards, most of the talk was about one key possession that came late in the fourth quarter.
Following a miss by Harden with 15 seconds left, Golden State gained possession down by two points. Rather than call a timeout, Warriors coach Steve Kerr allowed his team to come down the floor, and got the ball into the hands of Kevin Durant.
Rather than take a shot himself, Durant passed to Klay Thompson, who was heavily guarded and stuck in the corner. A desperation heave wouldn’t go down for Thompson, and while the referees did say that the Warriors had fouled Paul with 0.5 seconds left, Golden State failed to get another shot off before the buzzer.
Given the outcome, it’s not surprising that Durant now wishes he could have that pivotal possession back.
“I saw Klay running along the baseline and maybe I should’ve waited until he set his feet,” Durant told reporters after the game. “I wish I had that play back. I’m going to watch film and see what my options were and hopefully if I’m in that position again I’ll be better.”
The performance from the Rockets was a stunning turnaround from the disastrous 41-point loss they suffered just two nights earlier at the hands of the Warriors.
The beginning of Game 4 looked like it would be no different, with the Warriors jumping out to a 12-0 lead. But Houston maintained their composure, secure in the knowledge that they would find a way to get back into the game.
“We knew over the course of the game that at some point we were going to score,” Paul said after the win.
The victory not only tied up the series, but it allowed the Rockets to regain their home court advantage. Games 5 and 7 will be played in Houston, meaning the Rockets won’t need to pull off another victory on the road to win the series.
Despite that, oddsmakers still see the Warriors as the favorites to advance. Ladbrokes has Golden State as a 1/2 favorite, with the Houston Rockets at 33/20 to win the series.