Heartbreak for Harden as Golden State inch ahead to take a 2-0 lead
In a pulsating clash in the Western Conference finals, the Golden State Warriors edged out the Houston Rockets 99-98 in front of a packed home crowd to take 2-0 lead in the seven-Game series.
Stephen Curry was once again the star for the Warriors, scoring 33 points but it was as cruel a heartbreak as it could get for James Harden of the Rockets, who had a spectacular game, scoring 38 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists while Dwight Howard scored 19 points and 17 rebounds.
Harden was clearly upset after the game and expressed frustration, despite putting in a good performance.
“Kicking chairs. It's frustrating. It's frustrating to give the game away like that,” the shooting guard said.
Warriors center Andrew Bogut said after the match, that Harden and Curry were clearly the best players in the world.
“Sometimes I want to crack open a beer and get a courtside seat. These two guys are the two best basketball players in the world," he said.
With seconds to go, The 25-year-old Harden was guarded by Klay Thompson and Curry made his way to the three-pointer line, where Harden lost control of the ball.
Thompson credits Curry
Speaking about the dying moments, after the game, Curry said that there was just some inkling that he wouldn't pass the ball.
“You knew he probably wasn't going to pass.At that point, it's just don't let him get a shot off and try to be the hero." he said.
Thompson credited the role played by Curry, saying that it was very good awareness on the part of the MVP.
"I just wanted to stay big and force a contested shot. Steph made a great read with that double team,” he said.
With 5 games remaining in the series, it now leaves the Rockets with an uphill task on their hands and if they are to make sure that the Conference Finals enter deep into the series, then they will certainly need to start getting wins under their belt and they could start that on home turf, when the series moves to Houston for Game 3 on Saturday.