HOUSTON (SportsRadio 610)- As he stepped to the free throw line for what would be two of the biggest free throws of his NBA career, only one thing was going through Jalen Green’s mind.
“I was thinking why was the crowd getting so loud,” Green said. “We need to get quiet here for a second.”
Green had just been fouled diving on the floor for a loose ball, sending him to the line down with the Rockets down with just 3.5 seconds left on the clock.
When the roar of the Toyota Center crowd dulled, Green calmly drained both shots to put the Rockets up 91-90 over the Golden State Warriors. They would get a stop at the other end of the floor, which allowed Green to walk off the floor a winner against the Warriors for the first time in a dozen tries, ending the Rockets 15-game losing streak to their Western Conference rivals.
“That’s crazy,” Green said of the streak. “I’m glad we (ended it), though.”
Wednesday’s game was more than about just ending a losing a streak to a team that has stood in their way for a decade. It was a chance to advance to semifinals of the NBA Cup and to play in front of a national audience that rarely gets to see them play.
“I’ve been here three and a half years now,” Rockets center Alperen Sengun said. “I think that was the game where I felt the best (after winning). We won against Golden State, playing against (Stephen) Curry, Draymond (Green). That’s big time. Watching them growing up, and winning against them feels great. This is the best feeling I had.”
Taking advantage of the smaller Warriors, Sengun led all scorers with 26 points and 11 rebounds. He helped the Rockets jump out to a 14-point first half lead by scoring 14 points in the game’s first 24 minutes. Golden State cut that lead in half before the second quarter ended and took a lead into the fourth. The Warriors led by six with 3:03 left to play, but the Rockets closed the game by scoring the last seven points.
“Got stops when we needed to, hit big shots when we needed to, got on the floor when we needed to,” Rockets head coach Ime Udoka said.
In the short term, beating the Warriors provides the Rockets with a chance to take on the Oklahoma City Thunder in front of another national audience Saturday night in Las Vegas with a trip to the NBA Cup Final on the line, but in the long term, the Rockets ended Wednesday 17-8, tied for second in the Western Conference and appear headed to ending a four-year playoff drought.
The Rockets got a taste of what playoff basketball was like last season when they pushed the Warriors for the West’s final play-in spot last spring, but their goals this season are much bigger, and games like Wednesday will only increase the motivation to hit them.
“I just told someone I could imagine what the playoffs are like,” Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr, who scored 15 points, and blocked Brandin Podziemski’s would-be game-winning three, said. “Every seven-game series is that right there. Just the environment, going on the road, playing in something like that. It’s just what I’m built for. That’s what I love, I love games like that, I love environments like that.”