Rockets’ Fiery Win Over Warriors: A Playoff Showdown Full of Drama and Determination
In a game that was as much about grit and emotion as it was about skill, the Houston Rockets secured a 109-94 victory over the Golden State Warriors in Game 2 of the opening round of the Western Conference playoffs. The match, held at the Toyota Center, was a spectacle of intensity, featuring six technical fouls, a flagrant 1, minor scuffles, and the crowd’s vocal disdain for Draymond Green, evidenced by the repeated chants of “F— you, Draymond!”
For Rockets coach Ime Udoka, this fiery atmosphere was nothing new. “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 just over five minutes remaining. This play sparked a confrontation between VanVleet and Draymond Green, who engaged in a heated exchange near the Rockets bench. As tensions rose, players from both teams converged, resulting in a brief scuffle that required intervention from Warriors officials to separate Green from the crowd.
Draymond Green, known for his fiery demeanor, downplayed the incident, stating, “We were just talking and everybody came and surrounded and started pushing.”
During the altercation, Tari Eason of the Rockets was assessed a technical foul for a hostile act after throwing a towel. Reflecting on the incident, Eason admitted, “I’d say my emotions just got the best of me. 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.”
The Houston crowd’s relentless heckling of Green, including the infamous chant, drew criticism from Warriors coach Steve Kerr. “Draymond, he’s been around forever,” Kerr said. “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. 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 himself noted that the chant was not original, having experienced similar treatment from Boston Celtics fans during the 2022 NBA Finals. “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 charged atmosphere and verbal sparring seemed to fuel their performance. “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.”
As the series progresses, the Rockets will look to maintain their composure and harness the energy of their home crowd to continue their playoff push.
Originally Written by: Michael C. Wright
