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HOUSTON – In the early evening of Saturday, at quarter past seven, the Warriors saddled their biggest thoroughbred, Kevin Durant, and found themselves ahead of the Rockets less than two minutes later. It was their first advance since the beginning of the second quarter.
The Warriors' bench became alive, the Toyota Center was deafened and Houston coach Mike D'Antoni rushed to signal his defendants the time to appeal.
For a moment, and even during the fourth quarter of the time and perhaps in overtime, a thought crossed the Warriors. Thanks to Durant, they were about to win a match that they deserved to lose.
"He was a killer and he left us alone," said Warriors goalkeeper Stephen Curry, who watched from the bench as Durant scored 10 points in less than two minutes on shots on goal. out of four. "And once you have taken the lead and are starting to settle in, the mood is changing."
But when the game resumed, the Warriors returned to a more democratic offensive, and they turned against them enough so that reality could prevail and generate a deserving loss of 126-121 in overtime in the third match of the playoff series of the NBA.
Curry came back and tried to do what he usually does despite two fingers sticking as a result of a dislocation suffered in Tuesday's second game. He failed, missing his four shots in the fourth quarter and the two that he took in OT, punctuating his 7-of-23 night by raking a dissenting dunk with 19.2 seconds to go.
"In 44 minutes, it was not my night," he conceded.
Klay Thompson, who scored six points on three quarters, earned 10 points in the fourth but did not score on an overtime shot. Andre Iguodala had two decisive shots in the fourth quarter and tied a triple in overtime.
It became clear that if the Warriors were to win in spite of their numerical superiority, it would be Durant's turn to recover after scoring 12 points in the first period. He scored 34 over the last 29 minutes and finished with 46. With the Houston attack becoming even more of a dictatorship behind the overbearing James Harden in overtime, the Warriors remained true to their principles.
"We had our chances," said Warriors coach Steve Kerr. "And let's be honest: it would have been a bargain if we had won this game, they played us, they passed us by 20. They were the most physical and aggressive team from the start.
"We achieved this performance in the fourth quarter based on Kevin's talent, and I felt we had started competing better at this point."
The Warriors lost because the Rockets, down 2-0 in the best-of-seven series, played with the desperation of a team knowing that a defeat would have put them at the edge of the l & # 39; disposal. They were flawed and made 13 turnovers, but they made up for that with blood and sweat and a level of determination that seemed to act as a sixth man.
Houston had been on the attack since the beginning of the game, gradually trying to paint rather than settle for the usual 3 points of 25 feet. This gave the Rockets a lead of 58-49 at the half, after which they exploited the open looks from top to bottom. They made six triples in the first half, 12 after.
In addition, the Rockets took 55 rebounds, against 35 for the Warriors. They had 17 on the offensive, seven for the Warriors. With 15 shots in the second and third chances, Houston scored 18 points. The Rockets beat the Warriors every quarter and 5-1 in OT.
These numbers are important because the rebound totals are indicative of the determination, which doubles for late rebounds in a tight game.
"We did not have 50-50 balls in the right way," said Draymond Green, who was formidable on defense and submitted a triple-double (19 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists). "We gave up some offensive rebounds in overtime, and that was really the difference. When you're on the road and you're trying to win a playoff game, you have to propose one. It was pretty much the story of the game. "
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Could the warriors have removed this one? It was there for them, thanks to Green on the defensive and Durant at the attack.
"KD did some things, individually, that are not in the charts," D'Antoni said.
Durant did not do enough, though, partly because the ball was too often found by other hands, such as Curry's, who just did not have it. It's something the Warriors can ruminate as they assess tonight and prepare for Monday's fourth game.
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