Rockets take down the Golden State Warriors, 109-94, behind Jalen Green’s 38-point second career playoff game. 

When Houston and general manager Rafael Stone decided to take Green second overall in the 2021 NBA draft, they envisioned exactly this. On Wednesday night, Green led Houston to its first playoff win since Sept. 4, 2020, when the Rockets took down the Lakers in game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals in the bubble. 

After a game 1 loss in which the Rockets scored a season-low 85 points, and Green finished with just seven points, shooting 3-for-15 from the field, Houston silenced the critics. Green impressed and rose to the occasion with a playoff career-high 38 with eight 3-pointers made. 

In the two regular-season wins over Golden State, Houston held the Warriors to under 100 points in both wins. 

Wednesday night, they did the same, holding the Warriors to 94 points, never allowing them to take the lead in the game, outscoring Golden State in the paint 46-28, outrebounding them 47-33, and forcing 15 turnovers. 

The Rockets did all that, with a Warriors team without Jimmy Butler, who left the game at 2:28 in the first quarter after Amen Thompson undercut Butler’s legs going for a rebound, leading to a scary fall. 

After the game, Steve Kerr said the Warriors felt the incident was inadvertent. They will wait to see the results from tomorrow’s MRI to determine Butler’s status for game 3. 

For the second game in a row, Dillon Brooks has scored double-digit points and helped a young Houston team with little playoff experience. Brooks totaled 16 points and shot 6-for-12 from the field. 

Warriors’ cast goes silent

Steph Curry and Butler can’t do all the scoring themselves. There is this feeling that Golden State is just another piece away from completing this team. Too late for that. In the thick of the playoffs, guys like Brandon Podziemski, Moses Moody and Buddy Hield must step up for the Warriors even to have a chance at ring number five. 

They did in game 1 where Podziemski scored 14 points, and Moody made timely baskets in the fourth quarter. In game 2, Podziemski finished with zero points. 

Jonathan Kuminga played 26 minutes and scored 11 points, his first action since April 11. For a second straight game, the Warriors have shot below 80% from the free-throw line; Wednesday night, their low was 61%. 

The series shifted to Chase Center in the Bay, with momentum on Houston’s side, and the Warriors not sure if they are healthy for game 3.