The Golden State Warriors defeated second-seed Houston Rockets by 103-89 in Game 7 of the first round series to advance to the Western Conference semifinals. The Warriors held an emotional players-only meeting called by Green, Curry and Butler on Saturday at the team hotel just after their plane landed and it turned out to be a crucial factor in the win.
Warriors veteran Draymond Green admitted that he lost his cool in the penultimate game of the series, which led to his team’s downfall.
“Draymond set the tone last night at the team meeting,” said Warriors coach Steve Kerr, who joined the meeting later and was pleased to find out Green addressed issues he wanted to bring up. “Basically, he owned up to losing his poise in Game 6, and I agreed with him. I thought the flagrant foul was a tone-setter, and he knew it and so he talked to the group and said, ‘I got to be poised and I have to be better, and we’re going to come in here tomorrow and get it done.’ And I think his emotional stability tonight, just his poise from the start, set a great tone.”
However, on Sunday, Green was right on the money from the get-go and set the tone for his team as he scored the side’s first five points and hit his second 3-pointer a few minutes later.
Furthermore, Buddy Hield scored 33 points, including 22 in the opening frame. Hield said he was inspired and motivated by the players-only talk the night before.
“I thought his defense was tremendous tonight, too,” Kerr said. “One of the keys to the game was Fred VanVleet only got two free throws. Fred has just destroyed us the last three games. He’s had an amazing series. He completely flipped things with his play. Buddy did a great job on him. So, this was not just a lights-out shooting performance for Buddy, it was a two-way performance.”
Steph Curry admitted that the opposition had a solid defense and his aim was to make the right plays for his teammates.
“That was one of the toughest defenses I think I’ve ever faced,” said Curry, who battled through an injured shooting thumb. “The physicality that was allowed early in the series and then their commitment to just trying to take away all the patterns that we usually thrive off of and guard me in half court at times. It was wild.
“But just staying patient but still being aggressive was the difference. Tonight, I only had three points in the first half and five shots, but I’m trying to make the right play and soften them up, and eventually, you can make your presence felt scoring-wise, but everything else was about just trying to make winning plays.”
Golden State will face Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday at Target Center.
