Rockets’ Fiery Win Over Warriors: A Tale of Technicals, Tension, and Triumph
HOUSTON — The Houston Rockets put on a show Wednesday night, securing a 109-94 victory over the Golden State Warriors in Game 2 of the opening round of the Western Conference playoffs. The game was a spectacle of intensity, featuring six technical fouls, a flagrant 1, minor scuffles, and the now-infamous “F— you, Draymond!” chants echoing through the Toyota Center.
For coach Ime Udoka and his Rockets, this fiery atmosphere was nothing short of home sweet home. “If it gets chippy, we’ve seen over the last two years that’s worked in our favor for the most part, gets us amped up,” Udoka explained. “But when you have a lead, [and you’re] up 20, and things start to happen, you understand why. That’s kind of the last resort by teams. You’ve got to keep your composure at that point and just stay calm.”
The game took a particularly heated turn when a Fred VanVleet steal led to a Jalen Green layup, pushing the Rockets’ lead to 19 points with 5:23 remaining. This play sparked a confrontation between VanVleet and Draymond Green, who stood toe to toe near the Rockets bench, exchanging words. As tensions rose, players from both teams converged, resulting in a scrum that Warriors officials had to break up.
Draymond Green, known for his fiery demeanor, downplayed the incident, saying he and VanVleet were “just talking” and that “everybody came and surrounded and started pushing.” As the dust settled, officials assessed Tari Eason a technical foul for a hostile act after the Rockets forward threw a towel during the scuffle.
“I’d say my emotions just got the best of me,” Eason admitted. “In between the lines, you’ve just got to keep it basketball. I’m going to just be better for my team moving forward in controlling my emotions. I know that with some of the guys they have over there, their thing is to kind of try to beat you mentally. If you know basketball, basketball is 90% mental.”
Throughout the game, Rockets fans made their feelings known, heckling Green and chanting “F— you, Draymond!” on multiple occasions. Warriors coach Steve Kerr expressed his disapproval of the crowd’s behavior, saying, “Draymond, he’s been around forever. He’s an instigator. He’s always going to be in the mix and because of his career, his championships, his fire. He’s going to be a lightning rod, and that’s all part of it.
- Draymond Green: Known for his fiery demeanor and instigating style.
- Ime Udoka: Rockets coach who embraces the team’s chippy identity.
- Tari Eason: Rockets forward who received a technical foul for a towel throw.
“I would prefer if fans could use a little more discretion and remember the guy has kids. I don’t know, maybe I’m old school. But I’m all for fans cheering for their team and if they want to yell at the opponents, great. But I just think ‘F you’ is a little much.”
Green noted that the Houston fans’ chant was borrowed from Boston Celtics supporters, who had similarly heckled him during the 2022 NBA Finals at TD Garden. “It’s not original,” Green remarked. “I’ve been there before. Won a championship while it was happening. So yeah, it’s not really original. Can’t steal other people’s s—; that belongs to Boston. So, I kind of just kept pushing.”
For the Rockets, the heated exchanges and spirited banter seemed to serve as a unifying force. “It seems to always do that,” Udoka said. “That’s who we are. It’s our identity for the most part. Like I said at the start of the playoffs: We don’t have to flip a switch and try to get tough or get more aggressive. So, that carries over into the playoffs. I don’t mind it. It’s good for us. It’s who we kind of are, minus the towel throw. You’d like to keep your composure at that point. I told Tari that. He’s not even in the game, so he shouldn’t be over there. But it’s what we’ve built ourselves on, the identity, and everybody’s bought into that. It makes us who we are. So, I think our guys all kind of thrive on that. We’ve just got to keep our composure, especially when you’ve got a lead.”
ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk contributed to this report.
Originally Written by: Michael C. Wright
