Houston Rockets come back for Opening Night win vs. Warriors

The Houston Rockets truly stunned the Golden State Warriors tonight after their ring ceremony.

On a game that starting 30 minutes after the projected starting time, the Houston Rockets came back and defeated the defending champion Warriors.

James Harden led the way, but it was the bench that was truly spectacular for the Rockets. They outplayed the bench of the Warriors and helped out in the comeback.

Let’s take a look at the stats:

Key Statistics

James Harden: 27 points, 6 rebounds, 10 assists

Eric Gordon: 24 points

P.J. Tucker: 20 points, 6 rebounds, 4/6 from 3

Chris Paul: 4 points, 7 rebounds, 11 assists

Chris Paul struggled in his first game as a Rocket but still managed to get 11 assists. He was dealing with a knee injury as well.

Eric Gordon looked like a new man, driving to the paint at will. He made 0 threes but still scored 24.

Tucker and Luc Mbah a Moute were absolutely incredible in this game, especially in the 4th quarter. They played incredible defense and combined to shoot 6/9 from deep.

Full stats -> here

Recap

The Rockets started off poorly from the field but ended up down only one after the 1st quarter. They continued to weather the Warriors’ storm time and time again. Eventually, the Rockets were able to claw back and take a lead late in the game and never let go.

Kevin Durant made a last-second jumper to try to win the game but it was waived off after a review. He still had it in his hand, thankfully.

Draymond Green left the game in the 4th quarter after injuring his knee in the 3rd.

Andre Iguodala and Nene Hilario both sat out this game for their respective teams.

Game highlights

This game had some great highlights in it, so let’s look at a few:

First off, Eric Gordon still has some bunnies!

https://twitter.com/HoustonRockets/status/920491791782109185

Throwing it back to his Clippers’ days!

James Harden had a nice stepback over Steph Curry to end the 1st quarter:

James Harden steps back on Steph to end the quarter!

? – @NBAonTNT pic.twitter.com/WpRhVSAaiR

— Space City Scoop (@SpaceCity_Scoop) October 18, 2017

James Harden is still an incredible basketball player (duh).

One more highlight video for the night:

.@CapelaClint lived above the rim to help the @HoustonRockets complete the comeback in #KiaTipOff17!#GLeagueAlum pic.twitter.com/G6Qobkd0LV

— NBA G League (@nbagleague) October 18, 2017

Clint Capela struggled early but finished strong after catching a few lobs from his teammates.

Final thoughts

The Rockets still have some growing to do as a team. Chris Paul looked absolutely lost in the first half. He and the Beard need to keep perfecting their gameplan as they play.

The Warriors looked incredible offensively, of course. They shot 16/30 from deep, as compared to 15/41 for the Rockets. Overall, the Warriors shot far better than the Rockets but turned it over 7 more times.

Also, this is the first game of the season, Red Nation. Yes, it was an awesome win, but this is nowhere near how polished these two teams will look come April.

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Next: 5 goals for Chris Paul