Rockets sputtered

Last year, the Rockets crashed out of the first round of the playoffs, not coincidentally at the hands of the Warriors. While their record assures them of a favorable matchup at the start of their 2017 postseason run, they’ll need to assert themselves aga

You’d have been forgiven if you thought the Warriors were blowing the Rockets off the court in the first half of their encounter yesterday. In front of an inexplicably sparse crowd at the Toyota Center, last year’s finalists showed sterling effort on both ends of the floor; by the break, they had taken five more shots, made 10 more field goals, claimed one and seven more offensive and defensive rebounds, issued 12 more assists, and came up with three more blocks. For all their seeming advantages, however, they were but three possessions ahead, proof, if nothing else, that in the National Basketball Association, the ways to win — or lose, as the case may be — aren’t as obvious as traditional numbers would suggest.

For the Rockets, relentlessness was the key to their continued competitiveness. Through the second quarter, they found their guns mostly silenced. Because of tight coverage, they shot fewer threes vis-à-vis their norm, and of the 17 they got to put up, they made a paltry two. They kept plugging away, though, and their craftiness, featuring the usual tactics of Most Valuable Player candidate James Harden, enabled them to draw eight more fouls and make 17 ( yes, 17!) more free throws. In other words, they stuck to the familiar playbook of head coach Mike D’Antoni: Prioritize beyond-the-arc attempts, and, if stifled, go for drives to the hoop via screen-and-roll action after screen-and-roll action.

That said, the Rockets’ inability to find the range ultimately proved to be too big a handicap to overcome. Even as Harden managed to sport a triple-double a fourth into the second half, they ran out of steam by the end of the third quarter. The Warriors’ superior firepower kept them at bay, providing an answer every time they appeared to pull close. It certainly didn’t help that they failed to find a rhythm offensively, making only 16.1% of their heaves from trey territory and 38.8% overall.

Last year, the Rockets crashed out of the first round of the playoffs, not coincidentally at the hands of the Warriors. While their record assures them of a favorable matchup at the start of their 2017 postseason run, they’ll need to assert themselves against the conference’s big guns if they aim to go deep this time around. Meanwhile, their immediate past tormentors are chugging along, posting a third straight 60-win campaign and looking

ready to do battle for the hardware anew.