Warriors 94 vs 109 Rockets Game 2 summary, stats, scores and highlights | Butler ruled out for game
This was the play that Jimmy Butler took a hard fall and ended up having to leave the game. He fell right on his tailbone, took a while to get up, went to the FT line and left the game and went right to the locker room.
SINCE THEN HE HAS BEEN RULED OUT OF THE NIGHT WITH A PELVIC CONTUSION.
Jalen Green had his coming out party in the playoffs on Wednesday. He went for 38 points, hit 8 threes, dished 6 assists and carried his team when they needed him most. This series is up in the air heading to San Fran for the next two games. Game 3 from Chase Center will tip off on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. ET.
It's all square after two games. The series heads to San Francisco with a lot of things up in the air. Most importantly for the Warriors is the status of Jimmy Butler and the results of tomorrow's MRI.
This step back essentially iced the game with 6:00 to go in the fourth. The Warriors hung around all game long, but they were never able to make a run that might have made this young, inexperienced team a little nervous down the stretch. Give Jalen Green credit for keeping the Warriors at a distance.
What's a 38 point playoff night without a massive dunk for the highlight reel? Green went 3/15 for 7 points in Game 1, which was his playoff debut. On Wednesday he was 13/25 for 38 point and had 6 assists to lead his team in a must win game.
The Rockets were up by double digits most of the night but there were moments that Golden State had a chance to get into the game. Every time they had a chance, Jalen Green came up with a big bucket, or two like he did here mid way through the third quarter.
Sengun started off a flurry of threes with his first triple since March. Five threes would follow on the next five possessions but that was about as lively as the Warriors offense was all night. Without Jimmy Butler out, and with Brandon Podziemski feeling the affects of food poison coach Kerr had to rely on Jonathan Kuminga and Pat Spencer as he dug deep down his bench.
This was the moment of the night and maybe the series. Amen Thomson got pushed into Butler and undercut him as he went for a rebound. He came down hard on his tail bone, and stayed down for a long while. Butler shot his FTs after the foul, but went to the locker room and didn't return to the game. He was diagnosed with a pelvic contusion and will have an MRI tomorrow.
Aleperen Sengun had a big game on Sunday, and replicated that with another big night in Game 2. He got a little more help on Wednesday night, but that didn't quiet him down in the slightest.
The Houston Rocket delivered in a must win situation from the Toyota Center on Wednesday night. They bounced back from a Game 1 loss on the shoulders of Jalen Green who had 38 points in the 109-94 win.
Green struggled in his playoff debut against on Sunday, but he made sure he showed up i the biggest game of the season. He got going early against a Warriors team that had another slow start. Houston got up early and held on to that lead all night.
IT'S ALL OVER!!!
The Houston Rockets take care of business in a must win game before heading to San Francisco for the next two games.
Knox with the final bucket of the game and that's going to do it.
Kuminga to the line after the foul on Holiday and he hits one of two FTs.
Knox misses the mid range shot but Jackson-Davis was there for the tip in.
Brooks with the catch and shoot from the wing and he drills the three ball!
Sengun to the line after the foul on Jackson-Davis and he hits both FTs.
Spencer out the the timeout, and he goes right to the rack for the lay up.
Sengun lobs it over the top for Thompson on the alley oop!
Timeout Warriors with 3:40 to go in the 4th quarter!
Looney finds Kuminga slashing to the rack and he lays it up and in.
Moody drills the three ball from the wing!
Green with another three ball and he's got 38 points and 8 made three balls!
Santos to the FT line after the foul on VanVleet and he hits one of two FT.
Eason was handed a T during the timeout break for throwing a towel at Draymond after there was a little mix up between him and VanVleet.
Curry makes the FT.
VanVleet picked off the pass from Curry and Green soars to the bucket for the spectacular lay up!
Timeout Warriors with 5:23 to go in the 4th quarter.
Green sends Thompson to the FT line where he hits one of two FTs.
Green steps back and drills the three ball from the wing over Post and that might have just put the nail in the Warriors coffin.
Thompson into the lane and he shakes off some defenders and lays it up and in.
Draymond got hit with a T after jawing to the ref following the basket. FT is no good from Green.
Green hits one of two FTs and the Dubs get the ball back.
J. Green is called for a flagrant foul after the review and Green will go to the line to shoot two FTs, and GS will get the ball back.
Green went down after getting picked by Jalen Green, and they are going to look at that play and check for a flagrant foul.
The challenge is successful and the foul is taken off the board.
Post fouled VanVleet on the three ball and the Warriors are going to challenge the call with 7:27 to go in the 4th quarter.
Curry hits Post in the corner and he hits another three!
Moody underneath and he pump fakes a couple times and lays it up and in down low.
TImeout Rockets after a little burst from the Warriors.
Post was left open in the corner and he drills the three ball!
VanVleet pulls up from inside the lane and gets the roll over Post.
Timeout Warriors with 9:44 to go in the 4th quarter.
Brooks comes out of the break and hits a mid range fader from the elbow.
WE ARE HEADING TO THE FINAL QUARTER WITH THE ROCKETS UP BY 16!!!
Extra pass from Sengun to Green and he drills the triple try! 8-3 run after the timeout from Udoka.
Curry with a quick trigger from the wing and he hits the three ball!
Green picks off the pass and he soars for the slams on the break!
Smith jacks a three and he drills it into the face of Looney.
Looney takes a strong dribble from the FT line and he lays it up and in.
Timeout Rockets with 1:10 to go in the 3rd quarter.
Curry fouled by Eason and he hits both FTs.
TIMEOUT FROM HOUSTON WITH 3:00 TO GO IN THE 3RD QUARTER.
Eason on the break after the steal by Green and he slices through the defense for the lay in.
Curry to the line after the take foul on Eason, and he hits the FT.
Kuminga in the corner and he drills the three ball!
Green to the cup and he hits the fader over Post in the paint.
Eason with the drive and kick to Green who sinks the three on the wing!
Post was left open from downtown and he hit it from the top of the key!
Green in the corner and he knocks down the three ball off the kickout from Post!
Brooks was open from three on the wing and Thompson found him! He's got 5 straight points!
Brooks pulls up from the mid range and knocks it down from the elbow.
Post in the corner for three out of the timeout and Curry would love to see a few more of his teammates knock a few more of those down.
VanVleet missed the open three ball but Sengun was there for the tip in and the Warriors take a timeout with 7:57 to go in the 3rd quarter.
Curry into traffic and he pump fakes and banks it in from inside the paint.
Green in the corner for three and that was a much needed bucket for Draymond and the Warriors.
Green pulls up from inside the FT line.
Three ball from Green in the corner and he's got 18 to lead all scorers!
WE ARE BACK IN HOUSTON FOR TH SECOND HALF OF ACTION!!
It was a wild end to the first half as six straight threes were made in what was a pretty defensive minded, ugly first half. Steph got into the action, Green got into the action, VanVleet got into the action and the Houston Rockets lead by 14.
The Warriors are going to have to figure out how to get stops and buckets on the other end with no Butler and no Brandon Podziemski who is dealing with the affect of food poisoning.
This was the play that changed the first half, the game and potentially the series. Butler went down hard, and left the game. He was ruled out for the rest of the game with a pelvic contusion.
Sengun had a monster first half last game, and he's followed suit tonight. He's got 13 points and 7 rebounds and even it his first three since March.
Jalen Green and Amen Thompson struggled in Game 1, but they came out and got some early bucket to shake off the cobb webs from two days ago.
The Warriors knew what to expect from a desperate team that they knew was going to come out and try to push them around. Curry had 31 last game, and picked up right where he left off.
WE ARE AT THE END OF THE FIRST HALF AFTER A FLURRY OF THREE BALLS!!!
Houston have led from the start, and they go into the break up by 14.
Sengun breaks the three point spell with a mid range jumper in the lane.
Curry answers back with another three ball, his second straight!
Green with the step back from long range and a sixth fifth straight three falls!
Curry gets into the action from downtown with a three from the wing!
VanVleet drills a three ball from the top of the key and it's raining threes in Houston!
Hield answers back with a three ball of his own!
Sengun was dared to shoot the three ball and he drills it from the top of the key!
Kuminga to the cup after the Curry dish and he lays it up on the break.
Sengun at the line after the break and he hits one of two FTs.
Sengun to the line after the foul on Santos, but he will shoot after the timeout by Houston with 2:53 left in the half.
Looney to the line after the foul on Sengun and he hits one of two FTs.
Adams to the line after the foul on Looney and he hits one of two FTs.
Looney with the offensive board and he finds Spencer who banks in the three ball from the top of the key!
Curry working his magic and he finds Santos down low for the jam.
Green on the step back from the top of the key and he drills it over Looney!
Green to the line after the foul on Spencer and he hits both FTs.
Looney follows up the miss from Spencer and tips it up and in.
VanVleet to the line after the foul on Kuminga and he hits both FTs.
Spencer into the lane and he hits a little push shot in traffic. He's got 6 off the bench, and the Warriors will need all the help they can get from anyone they can get it from.
Curry scoops up the loose ball and looks ahead to Spencer for the lay up on the break.
Kuminga left wide open from the wing and he hits the three ball!
Eason nails a three ball from the corner! He's got 12 off the bench!
Sengun spins to the cut through a double team, lays it up and gets the foul! FT is good.
Sengun down low and he gets the hook shot to go over Hield and the Warriors need a timeout with Butler in the locker room and Curry on the bench.
Timeout with 9:18 to go.
Eason follows up his own miss and gets the tip in to fall.
Adams and Post got hit with a double tech after the foul and Brooks was called with his third foul after getting into a dust up with Green.
Tough fader over Green from Brooks as he fell to the ground.
Spence starts the quarter on the floor and he lays it up and in with a wide open lane down the lane.
WE ARE AT THE END OF THE FIRST QUARTER!!!
Houston lead by 10 after a nice start from the home side, but the story so far is Jimmy Butler in the locker room after taking a hard fall and landing right on his tail bone.
Hield goes glass after an offensive rebound and drive from the left side.
Green to the line after the overturned call and he hits both FTs.
The call is overturned and foul is called on Santon so Green will go to the line.
Green lost it on the drive to the bucket, but the Rockets think he got fouled. They will challenge the call with 28.1 to go in the first quarter.
Eason to the rack and he scoops it up and in off the glass.
Butler is heading to the locker room after that hard fall.
Smith pulls up and hits a mid range jumper from the elbow.
A foul was called on Thompson, his third, and Butler goes to the line where he hits one of two FTs.
Butler just went down hard after getting undercut by Thompson. Both stayed down for a moment, Butler for longer after coming down on his tailbone.
Curry drives baseline and pulls up with a little push shot from outside the lane.
Green crosses over on Post and he soars to the rack for a two handed slam.
Butler drives to the cup and lays it up after the timeout.
Timeout Warriors with 4:06 to go in the 1st quarter.
Eason on the oop after Sengun hung up the alley from inside the paint.
Green to the linen after the foul on Brooks and he hits one of two FTs.
Eason on to the floor and on to the scoreboard with a three ball from the corner!
Moody jacks up another three ball from the corner and he drains his second three ball!
Brooks fouled on the lay up in transition, and he hits one of two FTs.
We are heading to the first timeout from Houston with 6:41 to go.
Green down low for Sengun who turns and slams on Draymond down low.
Moody tries it from downtown and he hits the three from the wing!
Green into the paint and he finds Thompson on the baseline for the lay up.
Brooks on the turnaround from the baseline and he hits the mid range jumper.
Curry's first look at the bucket it from downtown and he strokes it from the wing!
Thompson to the line after the foul on Moody and he hits both FTs.
Green with a triple try from the top of they key and the two players that struggled the most last game are on the board already.
Moody to the line after the foul on VanVleet and he hits one of two FTs.
Thompson slashes down the baseline and Green found him for the lay up to start the game. Big start for Thompson who struggled last game.
WE ARE UNDERWAY FROM HOUSTON!!!
Rockets starting five
It's the same starting five for Ime Udoka in Game 2. He's going with VanVleet, Thompson, Green, Brooks and Sengun. They are going to need to bring the same energy and intensity to start the night. This is must win territory, and they can't afford a slow start.
Warriors first five
Steve Kerr went with this line up in Game 1 and he is repeating it for Game 2. It took this unit a little while to click after running in to a quicker, stronger, younger team but they worked it out by the 2nd quarter. Tonight they know what's coming. They'll be ready for it.
On this day, a decade ago
It seems like ages ago, but that just speaks to the legacy and longevity of Steph Curry. Ten years ago today, Curry, Warriors, Pelicans, Game 3, down by a triple and Curry delivered in the clutch on a second chance three ball that sent the game to OT. He is mister clutch and might have to be tonight against a Rockets team that is going to be looking to tie up the series at 1-1. They would go on to win the title that year and start a string of three championships in four years.
Injury report: Warriors
The Golden State Warriors aren’t just hitting stride at the right time on the court, they are also doing so on the injury report as well. Steve Kerr has no players on the injury list coming into tonight’s game. There are so many things that go into a title run, and staying healthy is at the top of the list. Curry’s thumb seems to have healed, and the rest of the team is going to try and stay as healthy as possible for this series and beyond.
Injury report: Rockets
The Rockets come into tonight’s must win game pretty healthy. Their will be without Jae’Sean Tate and Jock Landale. Neither are key figures of the Rockets offense or defense, but they do provide a little depth for Ime Udoka’s team. The stars of the show are all healthy and ready to even up the series against a Warriors team that has been rolling over the last few months.
Inexperience starting to show
Being young is a good thing. Lord knows I wish I could still stake claim. But in the playoffs it’s not necessarily a great thing. Experience outweighs youth 10 times out of 10. Last game the Rockets youth showed. Amen Thompson and Jeff Green went 7/24 from the field, and Tari Eason was 3/10 the field off the bench. The Rockets hit just 6/29 threes and missed 9 of their 20 FTs. The youngsters will step up eventually, but the vets like Dillon Brooks, Fred VanVleet and Jeff Green are going to be the ones who have to lead this young, talented squad against a team with championship experience.
Green saw it coming
I don’t want to get ahead of myself. The Warriors won one game in the playoffs, so lets not get carried away. But Draymond Green had no problem getting carried away during the All-Star Break when he was on the TNT Inside the NBA set, and when asked what we can expect from the post trade Warriors, he was very direct. He looked into the TV and said. “I’m sorry. I said I think we are going to win a championship, but I lied. We are going to win the championship." People thought he was nuts, or just being Draymond. Now it looks like he might have known what he was talking about.
Jimmy’s new world
The legend of Jimmy Butler has already been etched in stone, but there is plenty of room for him to add a few chapters, even at the age of 35. He’s been to NBA Finals before, but this may be his best shot at winning the NBA title. The Warriors were 25-26 before Jimmy debuted against the Bulls back in early February. Since then they are 25-8 including the Play-In and Game 1. Butler has been a big part of the turn around both on the offensive and defensive side. This is his time of year. They don’t call him Playoff Jimmy for nothing, and now having Steph by his side Jimmy has a real shot at a title run.
Star watch: Rockets
The Rockets have players that have been to the playoffs, and even won titles before but it was playoff debutant Alperin Sengun who looked like the postseason vet against the Warriors last game. He scored 26 points, hitting 11 of 18 field goals, and carried the team for most of the way. He was the second leading scorer in the regular season, dropping 19 points, 10 rebounds and almost five assists. His size and versatility from the mid range created some problems for the undersized Warriors, and they could look to exploit that even more today. Sengun will be getting plenty of looks tonight, but he will be hoping that the rest of the team shows up from the start and can help even the series before heading West.
Star watch: Warriors
We have seen this script before. Steph Curry in the playoffs is a different animal. That wasn’t quite the case early in this year, but it wasn’t the playoffs, and he didn’t have Jimmy Butler… yet. Curry has been extraordinary over the last few games which just so happen to have been the most important games of the season up until this point. He has scored 30+ in three straight games, and four out of his last five. He did get held to just 3 points against the Rockets at the beginning of the month, but he was battling a thumb injury that caused him to shoot just 1/10 from the field that game. His thumb is still bandaged, but the affects seem to have worn off and Steph is in playoff mode which is terrible news for the Rockets.
Game 1 recap
We knew this was going to be a tricky match up for the Houston Rockets. After getting the two seed in the Western Conference, their reward was a first round match up with the Golden State Warriors. Houston tried to do what got them here in the first place, which was play sound, stingy defense while using their athleticism and physicality to get out and run in transition. The Warriors were ready for Ime Udoka’s team, who came out looking to push Steph Curry and Golden State around in the first few minutes. After absorbing the early blows, the Warriors started to get some open looks and then started to lock down the Rockets on the other end. Alperin Sengun was the best player for Houston, carrying them for most of the first half. He ended the night with 26 points, but the Warriors would go on a 24-7 run in the 2nd quarter to take the lead and keep the lead. Curry led the Warriors with 31 points, Butler had another 25 but the Rockets made a late run and cut the lead to just 3. It was Curry and Butler that came up with some big shots late in the game and closed out Game 1 to give GS a 1-0 lead on the road.
We are live from the Toyota Center
Hello everyone and welcome to Houston where the Rockets might just have a problem. After an incredible season that saw their young stars come together to form one of the top teams in the league, but their regular season record won’t amount for much if they lose both of their home games and have to head to San Fransico trailing Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler and the revived Warriors. Steve Kerr’s guys were ready for a physical battle against this young, and athletic team in Houston. They came out and absorbed the first blow, and controlled the game from start to finish thanks to another brilliant performance from Steph Curry.
Warriors vs. Rockets Game 2
It’s only Game 2, but one team is in a must win situation after losing the series opener at home. A young team with little playoff experience paid the price against team full of NBA Champions and now the 2 seed are in serious trouble. It’s the Houston Rockets with their backs against the wall, needing a win tonight against the Golden State Warriors and AS English will be with you all night providing live coverage, stats, highlights and analysis of tonight’s Game 2 from the Toyota Center.