Even though there is no such thing as a seven-game series which is over after just three games, for all intents and purposes, the Houston Rockets (64-32 SU, 57-39 ATS) have to win Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals if they want to have any shot against the Golden State Warriors (77-17 SU, 52-41-1 ATS).
SLOWING DOWN STEPH
Maybe Kevin McHale is onto something.
With 7:33 left in the second quarter in Game 2, McHale called a 20-second timeout with his team down 49-32. Giving up 49 points in less than a quarter and a half is just inexcusable, even if you are playing against the Warriors.
However, from that point on, the Rockets seemed to be more methodical with the basketball, and they were able to slow things down just a bit. Golden State had 32 shots from the field in the first 17+ minutes of the game. The team had just 45 shots from the floor for the rest of the night.
It was an amazing transformation, and it was one which really got under the skin of the Warriors. They shot less than 45 percent from the field for the rest of the evening in Game 2, and a lot of that was because their transition game was neutralized. The Rockets went more into the post with the basketball and ran more set plays, and all of a sudden, that lead started to dwindle just a bit.
Just a quarter later, Houston found itself up six points thanks to a quarter-long run of 31-6.
The pace of scoring slowed down dramatically at that point as well.
Had you live bet the over at the end of the frenetic first quarter, you would have played over 224.5. The final tally reached just 197 points.
DOUBLING DOWN ON DWIGHT
If you listened to sports talk radio leading into Game 2, you would have thought that Dwight Howard was a complete baby. He left Game 1 with a knee bruise and told reporters that he would listen to his body as to whether he would play in Game 2.
Most just assumed that was code for giving him the out to not play on Thursday. However, play he did, and the argument could be made that he was the best player on the court for many stretches even though his teammate, James Harden will get all of the accolades for scoring 38 points with 10 boards and nine assists.
Howard had 19 points and 17 rebounds, five of which were on the offensive glass. Golden State had no interest in trying to defend him in the low block, and no matter who guarded him, he was always able to find his position. If Houston can get Howard more involved in the offense in Game 3, matters could get quite interesting.
STOPPING THE SPLASH BROTHERS
Steve Kerr is one of the best X's and O's coaches in the game, and he pushed the right buttons at times in the second half to get the Warriors back in control of a game which could have gotten completely out of hand.
It was just a night where Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry weren't at their best. Yes, the two scored 46 points between them, but Thompson shot just 1-of-7 from downtown, while Curry had six turnovers. Plus/minus isn't the best stat in the world, but Curry went -7 in Game 2, while Thompson was -13.
Clearly, Curry and Thompson were frustrated at times, particularly in that second quarter. McHale and the Rockets know that they aren't going to stop the Splash Brothers. They just need to contain them. And contain they did in Game 2. If they can contain again in Game 3, they'll get the ultimate reward in live betting once again of a big time cover.
There literally aren't many steps along the way in the first two games of this series in which you wouldn't have covered had you live bet on Houston, which is definitely something to keep in mind as well heading into Saturday's Game 3.
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