Rockets Respond With Improvement on Both Ends

The Golden State Warriors' game plan drastically changed after Jimmy Butler left with an injury after colliding with the Houston Rockets' Amen Thompson. Houston took advantage of the confusion left by the unfortunate incident as Golden State failed to stop the Rockets from doing many things that brought them success during the regular season.

Without Butler, the Warriors looked more like the team the Rockets played during the first part of the season and in the NBA Cup Quarterfinals. Head coach Steve Kerr struggled to find effective lineups against Houston's best rotations. For Houston, it seemed every rotation found success against the Warriors.

The Rockets created a major advantage on the boards, with a 47-33 rebounding advantage. They grabbed 10 more defensive rebounds than the Warriors, led by a big rebounding night from Alperen Sengun and six boards each from Fred VanVleet and Tari Eason.

The Rockets led the league in rebounding throughout the season, and they used offensive rebounds as a weapon all season. Offensive rebounds helped them supplement their scoring when shots didn't fall.

Houston's shots did fall during Game 2 against the Warriors, and the offense looked much more organized than it did in the opener. Jalen Green was more successful attacking mismatches against bigs and slower defenders. It helped that he converted eight of his 18 shot attempts from deep on the way to 38 points. Sengun finished with 17 points, Dillon Brooks added 16, and Tari Eason put up 14 points as the Rockets had a strong scoring night.

Another element that carried over from the regular season was Houston's ability to take care of the basketball and limit turnovers.

The Rockets were one of the league's best teams in ball security. Houston had a pretty sloppy first game of the series, turning the ball over 16 times. They limited it to just 10 in Game 2, helping the Rockets stay organized offensively and create open shots.

Houston benefited from injuries to Butler and Brandin Podziemski, and Stephen Curry didn't have a normal shooting game from within the three-point arc. However, the teams now prepare for the second leg of the series in San Francisco, and the Rockets are hoping their success from the regular season and Game 2 continues for the rest of the series.