Warriors survive Harden's huge game 2

The Golden State Warriors blew a 17 point 2nd quarter lead to win 99-98 in game 2 of the Western Conference Finals. With 19 seconds left and Dwight Howard defending Steph Curry on the perimeter, the Warriors swung the ball around and Harrison Barnes missed a reverse contested layup. The ball fell to James Harden who pushed the tempo but was cut off by Curry. Stopped in his tracks, he gave the ball up to a trailing Howard who returned the ball immediately. Harden then got doubled by Steph and Klay and lost the ball as the buzzer sounded, ending an exhilarating game that went back and forth but somehow ended with the Rockets not even getting a shot up.

With a timeout still available, Rockets decided to push the ball up the court, but that choice didn't pay off.

Despite coming up short in the final play, James Harden once again came up one assist shy of a triple-double. He finished with 38-10-9 shooting 13-21 from the floor. He dueled with MVP Steph Curry all night, going shot for shot with the Warriors point guard. Curry also finished with an amazing stat line, 33-6-3 but it was his 3pt shooting that threw the Rockets off, especially in the 1st quarter where he knocked down four 3 pointers.

Curry was given wide open shots in the first half, including a 15 point 1st quarter. The Rockets managed to stay within reach of the Warriors but then fell behind with some lackluster defensive possessions and hot shooting from the Warriors. If Houston has any chance in this series, they need to close out harder and faster on the Warriors shooters.

This was certainly a game the Rockets could have won and Harden was visibly upset with himself. But there is reason for optimism for both camps heading into game 3 in Houston. The Rockets have been competitive throughout both games, only falling short by a total of 4 points. Furthermore they have erased substantial deficits to claw their way back into the games after digging themselves into a pretty bad hole.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txX4mpL3CF8

The Warriors meanwhile will be happy with the way that they're playing and have all the momentum with them. MVP Steph Curry has been playing to his full potential and Andrew Bogut looks to be getting better despite battling the flu. It seems that the Warriors could only get better and it's going to take better overall performances from the Rockets to make the series competitive again. Draymond Green had a fairly standard game, which for him is a near triple-double, 12-8-7. His numbers don't tell the whole story but, his defensive versatility and ability to stretch the floor on the offensive end is vital to the Warriors' playoff push.

An area of concern for the Warriors however, would have to be the play of Klay Thompson. Despite playing above average defence, (and still not making the All-Defensive team) Klay has been unable to make a significant impact on the two games thus far. In game 2 he shot 6-15, including only one 3 pointer from seven attempts. Klay needs to play better if the Warriors are going to be able to hold onto the series lead.

Game 3 is in Houston on Saturday in the U.S.