Post Up: The Battle Continues

Rockets 98, Warriors 99 (Warriors lead 2-0)

War is the epitome of hard-to-watch. Seeing photos from the aftermath of battles in the homes of people with hopes once had—we’re quick to turn our heads away from the sadness.

There’s one battle though—only one—that keeps my eyes glued to the screen in complete awe and respect:

I ain’t mad about that one. A full-on battle of James Harden and the Rockets versus Stephen Curry and the Warriors on a stage as great as the 2015 Western Conference Finals. Sign me up, please.

In last night’s Game 2, the Warriors built a 17-point lead in the first half on 15 points (including four 3-pointers) from Curry in the opening quarter and Second Team All-Defense blocks from Andrew Bogut (14 points, 8 rebounds, 5 blocks):

Oh, and plays that make a dude wanna “get Iggy with it” contributed to that lead, too:

But the game that appeared to be well in the Dubs’ control turned into a tie at the half. Houston pulled a Game 1 Golden State move by going on a 24-6 run to erase the gap, taking full advantage of their opponents’ 11 first-half turnovers. Ten of the eleven baskets that contributed to the Rockets’ run were either scored by Harden or off his assist. He finished the game with a near triple-double of 38 points, 10 boards, and 9 assists.

The second half was an intense one, with the two teams trading baskets. ‘Twas a 2-point game heading into the final period. With under three minutes left in the game, Curry (33 points, 6 assists) sank a couple step-back triples. Dub Nation had an 8-point advantage with 1:39 until the final buzzer was expected to sound. But then Harden scored 6 straight points and dished the following assist to Dwight Howard, who finished with 19 points and 17 rebounds despite a sprained left knee.

Thirty-three seconds left. One-point game. Splash Brothers. (on the defensive end, by the way)

The battle continues tomorrow night with Game 3 on the Rockets’ turf.