Warriors force Game 7 with 115-107 loss

Steve Kerr changed the starting lineup and it really sucked in a dispirited home loss

I watched Game 6 of the Golden State Warriors first-round series against the Houston Rockets at a bar in Oakland, surround by neighbors at the birthday party of a man I knew primarily because our dogs (both doodles) are friends. At one point, I looked across the bar and realized that most of the guests were a full decade younger than me, full of energy and vigor, all unlikely to commit 30 fouls in a closeout home game.

Was that an indication of the Warriors’ 115-107 home loss in Game 6, one that sent them back to Houston for a deciding Game 7 Sunday night, ruining their chances to advance and raising the possibility of another decade of jokes about blowing a 3-1 lead? Yeah, maybe.

It was a very bad sign when, in a crucial game, Draymond Green chose to commit a flagrant foul roughly 3.2 seconds into the game, fouling Jalen Green, winding up and hitting his neck and also appearing to kick at Green’s groin. All in a completely natural motion, of course.

Perhaps the weirdest part was when Green headed to the bench and started chugging a glass bottle of sparkling water. Do they sponsor his podcast?

The Warriors still didn’t figure out away to stop the red-hot Fred VanVleet (29 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists, 6-9 from three), who was playing like his wife just gave birth to a child and giving Steph Curry and Kevon Looney flashbacks to the 20219 Finals. He completed a four-point play to start the 4th quarter, beginning a nightmare final quarter after the Warriors had cut Houston’s lead to two points.

The Warriors couldn’t deal with the Rockets lineups featuring Steven Adams, who scored 17 points, blocked three shots, grabbed five offensive rebounds and (sort of) thwarted the Warriors Hack-a-Kiwi strategy by going 9-for-16 from the foul line. He blocked a Jimmy Butler layup early in the final quarter, which helped launch a stifling Rockets run where the Warriors didn’t make a field goal for six minutes and 37 seconds.

The young Rockets dominated the final quarter against the experienced Warriors, playing at home, starting with a game-sealing 26-13 run before the final margin was shrunk thanks to a second straight game of fruitless garbage-time excellence from the Warriors’ reserves, who weren’t able to spark a fight with Alperen Sengun during this lost game. The final was 115-107, but while the game was close for three quarters, the final result was less close than the final score.

Steph Curry and his grotesquely-swollen thumb finished with 29 points on 9-for-23 shooting. He went 6-for-16 on three-pointers, shining brightest when Curry went on a personal 11-0 run to tie the game near the end of the second quarter.

Jimmy Butler finished with a near triple-double, scoring 27 points, grabbing 9 rebounds, delivering 8 assists and going 12-for-14 from the foul line. But he shot 1-for-6 from three-point range, a recurring theme in a game where the Rockets repeatedly left the Warriors’ less-skilled three-point shooters open and they performed relative to their percentages.

Or worse. Buddy Hield went 0-for-4 from deep. Gary Payton II was 1-for-4 on wide-open threes. Draymond Green made his first three-pointer and missed his next three attempts.

The disappointing game began with a starting lineup inspired by Steve Kerr getting a little too high on his own supply. The starting lineup featuring Curry, Butler, Green, Brandin Podziemski, and Moses Moody was nearly unbeatable after the Butler deal at the deadline. Friday’s lineup featured the Warriors Big-ish Three, plus Hield and Payton. How did that go? Hield was scoreless in 17 minutes and committed four fouls. Payton was -12 in 20 minutes.

But in general, the Warriors seemed to shy away from Houston’s defensive pressure. 49 of their 90 field goal attempts were from three-point range, showing a decided reluctance to go inside. They had 16 turnovers, five by Curry and four by Green. In a closeout game at home, they appeared to throw in the towel with seven minutes to go.

For Houston, Fred VanVleet continued to hurt the Warriors, even with Payton dispatched to check him early. Alperen Sengun had 21 points, 14 rebounds, and 6 assists — and three steals. Tari Eason had four steals and went 2-for-3 from behind the arc. Jabari Smith, Jr. continued to baffle viewers who don’t understand why he doesn’t play more, going 2-for-3 on threes, scoring 8 points, and finishing +9 in 19 minutes.

Now the Warriors head back to Houston for a climactic Game 7, looking old and tired and confused about whether they should leave VanVleet on the perimeter (they shouldn’t). Based on my experience, the best path for the Warriors is to put Moody and Podz back into the starting lineup, and when they feel threatened, bring up the terrifying nature of accumulated student loan debt, the difficulty of home ownership, and how the slow rise in global temperatures might make the planet virtually uninhabitable for anyone in the vicinity of the Gulf of Mexico America. Or show the Rockets their 401K balance.

Oh, and stop throwing the ball away for no reason. The Warriors are perfectly capable of beating the Rockets in Houston. They just need to refrain from beating themselves.