Rockets Heat Up to Even Series With Warriors at 1-1

Houston had five players score 16 points or more in a 127-105 rout.

James Harden #13 of the Houston Rockets shoots against the Golden State Warriors in the second half of Game Two of the Western Conference Finals of the 2018 NBA Playoffs at Toyota Center on May 16, 2018 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)
James Harden #13 of the Houston Rockets shoots against the Golden State Warriors in the second half of Game Two of the Western Conference Finals of the 2018 NBA Playoffs at Toyota Center on May 16, 2018 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)
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James Harden had 27 points for the Rockets on Wednesday night, but it was the play of his teammates that helped Houston beat the Warriors to even their series at a game apiece.

Houston had five players score 16 points or more during their 127-105 win over Golden State including Eric Gordon (27), Trevor Ariza (19) and P.J. Tucker (a playoff career-high 22).

For the Warriors, Kevin Durant was excellent again with 38 points, but Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson struggled as they combined for 24 points and hit just 3 of 12 three-point attempts.

Thanks to their hot shooting and decent defense, the Rockets led by double digits for the majority of the game and didn’t trail after the first quarter.

“They were desperate tonight and played like it, and we weren’t and it showed,” said Golden State coach Steve Kerr. “We got outplayed the whole game … we got it handed to us. You can look at it any way you want … and parcel it out, but it didn’t matter who we had out there tonight we got beat.”

After Game 3 on Sunday, the teams will play Game 4 on Tuesday. Both will be in Oakland.

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