Looney’s defense passes major test

In riding 65 wins to the Western Conference’s No. 1 seed, the Rockets came to master the art of hunting mismatches along the 3-point arc. In Game 1 of the conference finals Monday night, James Harden and Chris Paul stuck to the game plan, repeatedly attacking Warriors reserve Kevon Looney on an island.

In 25 minutes of Golden State’s 119-106 win at Toyota Center, Looney contested 19 shots. No one else contested more than 10. Harden and Paul combined for 64 points, sure, but Warriors head coach Steve Kerr sees no need to draw anything up for Game 2 on Wednesday that would make it more difficult for Houston to isolate Looney on pick-and-rolls.

“We won the game last night, so it’s not like we’re going to sit here and change everything,” Kerr said after practice Tuesday. “But we have to look at everything, and determine if we need to make some adjustments, which we probably will, but we’ve always been very comfortable with Looney guarding oneon-one.”

Last summer Looney was desperate for something to help him resuscitate a career on life support. He thought about teammates Draymond Green and James McAdoo, both of whom had used an increasingly valuable skill — the ability to defend multiple positions — to earn meaningful minutes.

Could Looney, who entered Monday having only played 10 career playoff games, handle all that comes with guarding Harden and Paul on an island in front of a hostile crowd?

Looney stuck to his fundamentals, making life difficult on Harden, though he scored 41.

“I knew I was doing all right,” Looney said. “There weren’t any easy ones for him. There were maybe like two or three. But he’s a shot-maker. That’s what he does.”

Added Kerr: “He was out there for a reason. He’s an excellent one-on-one defender. He’s got great length, and it’s not easy scoring on him.”