Despite a game-high 41-point effort from James Harden, and an average performance by Stephen Curry, the Houston Rockets failed to protect home court in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals last night. Kevin Durant's 37 points and Klay Thompson's six three-pointers paved the way for Golden State to take the first game of the series by the final of 119-106.
According to ESPN Stats & Info, the Warriors scored 54 points on uncontested looks in Game 1, tying for the second-most they've scored this postseason, and the most the Rockets have allowed in the playoffs thus far.
"You're not going to come in and just knock them out," Houston coach Mike D'Antoni said, per ESPN. "There were too many times where we had mental lapses. We didn't switch properly, turned the ball over and missed too many layups. We need to do a better job of staying up mentally."
According to OddsShark, the Rockets are still favored heading into Wednesday night's Game 2. Houston is currently giving 1.5 points, the same amount they were favored by prior to their 13-point loss last night. The over/under point total is set at 224.5, which is just a shade higher than it was in Game 1.
Game 2 will tipoff at 9:00pm ET tomorrow night, airing on TNT. The series will then shift to the Bay Area for Games 3 & 4 on Sunday, 5/20, and Tuesday, 5/22.
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