Rockets play poorly in loss to Warriors, Harden says: ‘It happens’
HOUSTON — In what symbolized Friday night for the Houston Rockets, James Harden, the master of the lob pass during his MVP-type season, sent one to Clint Capela, a man quite capable of converting such plays.
Capela missed the rim.
The Golden State Warriors came down to the other end and Stephen Curry hit a 3-pointer, his fifth of the game. Having seen enough, coach Mike D’Antoni called timeout and started to clear the Rockets bench with 3 minutes, 19 seconds left in the fourth quarter. The fans were also done for the evening, and quite a few headed for the exits just before the T-shirt giveaway at the Toyota Center.
Houston couldn’t hit a shot, struggled with its offensive spacing, played poor defense and was soundly beaten by the Warriors, 125-108.
“None of us are happy,” Harden said. “But it happens. So what’s next? That’s been our motto. We lost. This game doesn’t count for more or less, and we got a game tomorrow and be prepared for it.”
It was a much different Rockets team than the one we saw back in December, when Houston won a double-overtime thriller in Oakland, California. In the return match, Harden didn’t see much room to maneuver because of the Warriors’ constant double-teams. The Rockets also didn’t hit shots, going 7-for-35 from 3-point range, including a dreadful 0-for-10 in the third quarter.
Golden State protected the rim with a force, as evidenced by its seven blocks, and closed out on the Rockets shooters.
Harden took just 13 shots and missed all five of…
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