A live look at the fan reaction to Game 2.
Wednesday was brutal for the Golden State Warriors. They lost to the Houston Rockets in Game 2 of their playoff series by a score of 109-94. They lost Jimmy Butler III to an injury. It was about as bad of a day as could be imagined, yet the Warriors are still tied in the series, going home, and with home court advantage. It could be worse!
Let’s see how Dub Nation reacted to the game in real time, by looking through the Golden State of Mind game thread.
First quarter: ‘I hope Jimmy is OK’
The Rockets made a statement early, jumping out to a 7-1 lead, and having an 18-10 advantage at halftime. Then came the big moment: Butler got accidentally undercut by Amen Thompson and fell on his tailbone. He left the court gingerly, and the Warriors trailed 28-18 at the end of the quarter.
Second quarter: ‘Pat Spencer Era has started’
With Pat Spencer (who balled out!) and Jonathan Kuminga starting the second quarter, the Warriors found themselves down 20 in no time at all. Meanwhile, Butler was officially ruled out, while Brandin Podziemski was ruled as questionable with an illness. Steph Curry and Draymond Green were getting in Houston’s head and under their skin, but the Rockets still led 60-46 at halftime as the game got very chippy.
Third quarter: ‘They deserve to be losing’
Quinten Post and Gary Payton II were inserted into the starting lineup to start the half, though Podziemski did return halfway through. The Warriors made a spirited run and started to get back in the game, but Houston responded emphatically, and took an 87-71 lead into the fourth quarter.
Fourth quarter: ‘This has Udoka written all over it’
The Rockets quickly pushed the lead back to 20 points, and the game got chippy, emotional, and intense. There were elbows and towels thrown, words and gestures exchanged, and fouls both technical and flagrant. The Warriors did make a push again, but couldn’t get the game close enough to really get into it.
