The Houston Rockets didn't do anything well in Game 3 last night, and the scoreboard reflected as much. In searching for the words to describe Houston's 41-point loss at Oracle Arena, head coach Mike D'Antoni simply said his team "played soft."
"It's just one thing led to another," D'Antoni said, per ESPN. "Played soft, actually. I mean, you can't do that with these guys. These guys are good."
On the offensive side of the ball, the Rockets shot just 40% from the field and they turned the ball over 20 times, which led to 28 points for Golden State. Houston was equally as bad on the defensive end, allowing the Warriors to score 126 points on 52.2% shooting from the field, including 40.6% from behind the arc.
Golden State's 41-point drubbing was the largest margin of victory in the team's playoff history eclipsing a record set 70 years ago when the franchise was located in Philadelphia, according to ESPN.
After being told of D'Antoni's post-game comments, MVP candidate James Harden could do nothing but agree of his assessment that the team played soft. Harden, who finished with a team-high 20 points and nine assists, told reporters "[D'Antoni is] right. We weren't as aggressive as we needed to be. We started off the game pretty solid, and then we let them gain some confidence to end the first quarter. But just defensively, they didn't feel us, and it showed tonight."
Houston will look to avoid falling in a 3-1 hole tomorrow night when they return to Oracle Arena for a pivotal Game 4.
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