Golden State Warriors: 3 takeaways from Game 5 vs. Rockets

The Golden State Warriors dropped their second-consecutive nail-biter to the Houston Rockets, losing 98-94 in Game 5. Here are our takeaways.

It is almost impossible to know where we are at in the 2018 Western Conference Finals. The scoreboard says 3-2 following the Golden State Warriors’ 98-94 Game 5 loss to the Houston Rockets. Five quarters ago, however, the Warriors appeared to be in complete command, having thoroughly outplayed the Rockets through nearly four games.

While Houston has changed that reality, it has not done so in dominant fashion. Both Games 4 and 5 could have gone either way. That says nothing of how a healthy Andre Iguodala would have changed things, or how a potentially-injured Chris Paul changes things going forward.

Needless to say, the series is far from over. If Game 6 and a potential Game 7 go like the last two did, however, the Rockets have a major advantage. In Game 5, Stephen Curry (22 points), Klay Thompson (23 points) and Draymond Green (12 points) were all -9. Green also had six turnovers, the final one costing his team a chance to tie or win the game in the closing seconds.

James Harden (19 points on 21 shots) struggled, and Paul was a -13 despite a strong night (20 points, seven rebounds, six assists, zero turnovers). However, the Rockets got 33 points from their bench (which was only Eric Gordon and Gerald Green), while the Warriors got four.

In our Game 5 takeaways, we look at why the tenor of this series has shifted, and whether it will shift back.