Rockets’ biggest playoff fears realized in Game 3 loss to Warriors

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SAN FRANCISCO — The pathway from the court of Chase Center to the visitors’ tunnel isn’t quite the hallowed ground that Oracle Arena birthed. Still, the pain from a playoff loss has always stung, no matter the venue or individual.

Jayson Tatum. Jaylen Brown. Luka Dončić. Kyrie Irving. Nikola Jokić. All have taken the slow procession after defeat at the hands of Golden State.

As a disappointed Dillon Brooks walked off the floor, with a raucous Warriors crowd celebrating his sixth foul with 3:47 remaining in Houston’s 104-93 loss, the moment felt larger than a six-point deficit or a team on the brink of falling behind 2-1 in a series.

Brooks, who finished Game 3 with 13 points and six rebounds, unable to find a rhythm due to foul trouble, had actually taken this same walk before. Four years ago, Brooks, then a member of the Memphis Grizzlies, found himself on the losing end in three consecutive road games during the Western Conference semifinals. For Brooks, it’s now four.

Chase Center may not possess the old-school relic and splendor of Oracle Arena, but it’s the people, not the infrastructure, that create a culture. The passionate Warriors fanbase didn’t suddenly abandon their team because the P.O. box moved over the water and across the bridge. Saturday night culminated the Rockets’ biggest playoff fears — a fiery crowd against an untested group, a Steph Curry virtuoso performance and a failure to execute at both ends of the floor in the game’s biggest moments.

“I would say we did a good job overall,” Brooks said. “We just didn’t get enough stops. We let guys get to their strengths. They beat us on the offensive rebounding, extra possessions to get more shots. That’s really it.”

Game 3 was the eighth time the Rockets and Warriors have faced each other this season and at this juncture, the game-to-game adjustments and counters are well-known — outside of throwing a complete wrench in the series by inserting Cam Whitmore or Reed Sheppard into the equation. Following the game, Rockets head coach Ime Udoka lamented his team’s inability to rotate properly behind blitzes, contain Golden State’s second-chance points and questioned his team’s dismal 58.3 percent shooting from the free throw line. Houston had prepared for Jimmy Butler’s availability but even in his absence, they felt confident against the Warriors’ makeshift lineup, with Quinten Post and Jonathan Kuminga now in the starting five.

All of Houston’s aforementioned mistakes are correctable. But Butler or not, the Rockets’ issues in getting past the Warriors — both past and present —  begin and end with Curry. In their final regular-season meeting, when Houston held Curry to just three points, there was an internal belief that the game plan to slow him down was there and it continued to be executed in Game 2.

But as Curry displayed in dramatic fashion, when the Warriors have their backs against the wall, no such plan exists. Udoka’s voice was nearly gone as he addressed the media, indicating an excessive amount of shouting that evening, and for good reason. Curry torched the Rockets for 36 points on 12-of-23 shooting, his second time scoring 30 or more points in a series after just three games. The attention to detail and physicality that needs to be synonymous with defending Curry simply wasn’t there in Game 3, a recipe for disaster.

“We’re not going to hold him to three points every time we play them,” Fred VanVleet said. “We have to understand that. This is one of the all-time greats. I thought our coverages were a little slow tonight, some of the switching, some of the physicality was a touch down from how we had it ramped up in the previous game, but this is the playoffs. It’s all about adjustments and chess matches and different things.”

“So they were prepared. I thought they executed at a higher level than we did, and sometimes that’s all it comes down to. So he got some clean looks, more so than we would like, so we got to try to limit his opportunities and make his life a little bit harder out there but obviously that’s a tough cover.”

Before Game 3, this iteration of Rockets basketball had never been placed in a hostile environment. There’s nothing this team could have gleaned from the regular season or the NBA Cup to prepare them for this moment. When Houston took the floor with 17 minutes remaining until tipoff, a sea of passionate boos rang out from wall to wall, almost shaking the foundation. Every foul committed by Brooks or Amen Thompson was met with the same fervor as if Curry hit a momentum-shifting 3. “Waaaaaaaaariors! Waaaaaaaaaaariors!” chants steadily increased in volume. The Rockets were truly in enemy territory and felt its adverse effects at the worst time possible.

“I don’t really want to use that right now,” VanVleet said. “We need to get these wins. It’s a true statement for sure. It makes it tough. You can’t really have that viewpoint while you’re in the middle of it. These are great experiences and great learning moments for our group. No better challenge than these guys at home after a loss.”

At some point, Butler will return in this matchup, possibly as early as Game 4 on Monday, another headache for Udoka and the coaching staff. Thus far, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has been creative at both ends of the floor, putting the Rockets in situations they’re not quite used to. This series has been an offensive nightmare, so pinpointing metrics like Houston’s 81.2 points per 100 halfcourt plays (Golden State scored 95.5, not much better) only highlights how effective the Warriors defense has been in throwing every possible scheme their way. (Game 3 was a sloppy offensive game, with 18 lead chances, 25 combined turnovers and a slew of poor possessional play overall.)

But the Rockets have to be better. Even if they’re unable to truly contain Curry (or Butler), they’ll need to tighten the hedges elsewhere. Role players like Buddy Hield and Gary Payton II can’t combine for 33 points on 5-for-14 3s. Alperen Şengün can’t get completely shut down in critical moments by Draymond Green. Houston has to find ways to work around the pressure from Golden State that they know is coming Jalen Green’s way. And if Game 3 — and Brooks’ eventual disqualification — is an indicator, they’ll need to find the fine balance between physicality and legality.

From an advanced numbers standpoint, it’s difficult to pinpoint exactly how these games can be won, on either side. All three games have been an ode to 90s-style brawls, a methodical, 48-minute roast. But if the Rockets can’t figure out a way to solve their Curry equation — and soon — their magical season will come to a close. If Houston thought Game 3 was a hostile environment — Draymond Green’s taunting of Jalen Green after the final whistle was the perfect encapsulation of the tensions between both sides — Game 4, with an opportunity to take a commanding 3-1 lead, will be pugnacious.

Jalen Green on what was going on with him and Draymond Green arguing after the game:

“Just talking. He can’t really do much of anything else, so talking is his only way.” pic.twitter.com/mLExzRMShy

— ClutchFans (@clutchfans) April 27, 2025

“We had a great chance to get out here with a win,” VanVleet said. “We didn’t do that. We have to bounce back, quick turnaround and we’ll be right back here on Monday ready to go again.”

(Photo: Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)

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