Recap: Rockets bounce back with 95-92 win over Warriors in Game 4

Okay, we can look at the Houston Rockets’ 95-92 win over the Golden State Warriors in Game 4 in two ways.

In a pivotal must win, the Houston Rockets withstood a 12-0 opening run and Stephen Curry’s patented third quarter blitz to pull off a gutsy upset in an arena that’s one of the toughest places to play in the league.

...or...

The Golden State Warriors blew a 12 point fourth quarter lead. Fouls, turnovers, A ISO heavy offense late in the game, and coaching errors were the culprits in this meltdown.

Either way you look at this, one thing is for certain: We now have a series.

Despite the Rockets’ grittiest effort, the fact of the matter is the Warriors had control of this game and they blew it. Point blank.

They blew it by being undisciplined on defense-knowing that they were missing Andre Iguodala. They blew it by too much ISO Ball.

In the fourth quarter, the Warriors had one assist and only two made field goals. Again, this system is based on ball movement and people moving without the ball, I didn’t see any of that. Most importantly, I didn’t see variations of pick and roll between either Curry and Durant or better yet, Green and Curry. A steady diet of pick and roll action could have increased the lead and ultimately closed out the game.

In addition to the ISOs, the Warriors blew this game by questionable rotations. Granted, the rotations were going to be compromised due to Iguodala’s injury. However, that doesn’t mean that Coach Steve Kerr is blameless . He sat a red hot Curry and the Rockets went on a run that trimmed the lead to three.

The decisive possession

About that timeout that should have happened. When Durant advanced the ball into the front court, I get not calling a time out. However, Kerr should have called one when the Rockets trapped Klay Thompson in the corner.

In the game’s hindsight, Kerr says that Draymond Green attempted to call a timeout, but the refs didn’t see it.

Even with the timeout, I don’t think the outcome would have been any different because the fourth quarter was riddled with bad shots and again lack of ball movement and focus.

Congratulations, “Warriors Isn’t Fair”, fans we now have a series.

Congratulations, Warriors you played yourselves.

Final Score: Warriors 92, Rockets 95

Series tied 2-2

Next Game Thursday in Houston