Golden State Warriors: 3 takeaways from Game 4 nail-biter vs. Rockets

3. Second quarter gap was the difference

The Warriors started off Game 4 strong, heading into the second quarter with a 28-25 advantage. They had held Houston to just 43.5 percent shooting from the field while canning 52.2 percent of their own looks.

In the 12 minutes before halftime, the Rockets blitzed the two-time defending champions in the form of a 36-26 scoring advantage. They hit six 3-pointers to Golden State’s two  — on only seven attempts, no less — and had an 8-4 advantage in combined offensive rebounds and turnovers forced.

That lack of effort saw the Dubs heading into the break down seven. They would soon face more of the same in the second half as the lead ballooned to double digits. They played from behind the entire second half, a difficult task to manage even for the most experienced of teams, especially on the road.

The point differential for the other three quarters equaled 10, the exact total from the second quarter. Had the Warriors managed to play their opposition nearly even as they did at every other stage of the game, they likely would’ve found themselves in a better position to fight and retake the lead late in the game.