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West Conf. Finals - Game 4: Houston Rockets 95-92 Golden State Warriors - Rockets' Player Ratings

Houston Rockets v Golden State Warriors - Game Four
Left to right: Trevor Ariza, PJ Tucker, James Harden, Chris Paul and Eric Gordon

Early in Game 4, both teams seemed to carry their momentum from Game 3, as the Warriors opened up this Tuesday night encounter with a 12-0 run. But this Houston Rockets squad is different from the one the Dubs faced in the Playoffs in 2015 and 2016.

The new Rockets showed a lot of grit, poise and gut in Game 4 to not only take the Warriors' punch in the mouth but always retaliate with a punch of their own. It was a game of quarters, as the Warriors combined to outscore the Rockets 62-36 in the first and third quarter combined but the road team always struck back. Houston outscored Golden State 59-30 in the second and fourth quarters.

In the end, the Warriors' 12 points in the final period allowed the Rockets to re-take home court advantage with a Game 4 win. Also, snapping the Golden State Warriors' 16-game home Playoff win streak in the process. Not to mention the fact that they did this by bouncing back from a record 41-point loss.

Plenty of praise to throw around to both teams. Let's start with the winners:

James Harden - 9/10

Houston Rockets v Golden State Warriors - Game Four
James Harden

Stat line: 30 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks and 11-26 FG's

At this current stage of his career, we expect James Harden to get 30 points in his sleep. Game 4 wasn't about his scoring, as he only knocked down 42.3% of his attempts, it was about his hustle and all-around play in a mucky game where he showed his fight.

The Rockets' horrid 0-12 start to the game combined with Harden opting out of an open 3 early, got many to believe the star was going to an off-night once again when it mattered the most. To his credit, the Beard not only showed up but balled out the rest of the way, even uncharacteristically recording 3 steals and 2 blocks during this game.

Rockets got the win but Harden also gets to take back this poster dunk on Draymond Green back with him to Houston.

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