Led by James Harden—38 points, 10 rebounds—and plenty of physical play, Houston dug themselves out of a 0-2 hole to knot up the West semis at 2-2 with a 112-108 victory over Golden State in Game 4 Monday night.
“They’ve got a lot of middle linebackers on that team,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr told reporters afterwards.
Kevin Durant, who finished with 34 points and 7 rebounds in the loss, says the Dubs are “excited” about Game 5 back on their home floor.
Per The AP:
“When you’re dealing with these guys, if you let Klay (Thompson) and Steph (Curry) run around and shoot 3s you don’t have no chance,” Harden said. “The only chance we have is to be in to their bodies and make every shot that they take contested.”
Golden State coach Steve Kerr was asked about the physical play of the Rockets, who have several players who are much stockier than his squad.
“They’ve got a lot of middle linebackers on that team,” he said. “They’re sturdy and we’re like volleyball players, long and lean … everybody tries to be physical with us because they should. That’s the best way to try to beat us.”
Eric Gordon added 20 points for Houston and P.J. Tucker had 17 points and 10 rebounds.
“We’ve got to be better,” Tucker said. “We’ve got to be more aggressive. We’ve got to pick it up.”
