4 Important lessons from the Rockets' dominant win over Warriors

The Houston Rockets tied their first-round series with the Warriors at one game apiece on Wednesday.

It wasn't necessarily an easy game to watch.

A series of unfortunate events landed Jimmy Butler on the sidelines. Rockets fans think Draymond Green pulled Amen Thompson into Butler. Warriors fans insist that Thompson executed a WWE-style chop block to take Butler out.

It's hard to say what happened. This game was exceedingly physical. Throughout a confusing play, several fouls were likely committed. Thompson surely didn't mean to injure Butler, but he wasn't shying from contact either.

Don't expect that physicality to hold up. In Saturday's Game 3, it may only intensify.

Here are 4 lessons the Rockets need to learn to come out on top again.

1. Steph Curry can be guarded

Curry didn't have a bad game. To go a step further, he had a good game.

A 20-point, 9-assist performance with 4/9 shooting from the three-point line has never been a poor NBA game by any standard. That said, Curry was not transcendent. He was not the Human Torch.

That's all the Rockets can ask for.

They guarded him in every imaginable way. The Rockets emphasized putting a body on Curry at the expense of any other coverage. They opted to roughhouse him over letting him get an inch of daylight, and they undeniably got away with some fouls.

They should look to get away with more on Saturday. Curry can't be stopped, but if his impact can be mitigated to this extent, the Rockets should walk away with a win.

2. Draymond Green can be rattled

The Toyota Center did not give Green a warm welcome. An expletive-laden chant echoed through the building throughout the night.

That's what happens when you earn a reputation for kicking your opponents in the family jewels.

It may not have been the crowd that got under Green's skin. It was more likely a Rockets team that was willing to match - if not exceed - his physicality. Whatever it was, Green looked like a shade of his former self on Wednesday.

Green had 5 turnovers with just one assist. He's always a dominant defender, but Green was a non-factor on offense. If the Rockets can take him out of the game with sheer brutality, they'll be playing 4-on-5 on one end throughout this series.

3. Rockets can go big in the playoffs

This is less of a lesson from Wednesday's game and more of a lesson that's been accumulated over two contests.

This will be a small sample size theatre. Indulge me. When Steven Adams, Alperen Sengun, Jabari Smith Jr., Tari Eason, and Fred VanVleet share the floor, they are +48.6 across 9 possessions.

Here's the rub - the playoffs are a comparatively small sample. If that lineup can dominate across 20 possessions in this series, that will be meaningful.

Other permutations featuring the double bigs have been impactful as well, but the ability to run Eason at the 2 gives Houston an incredible size advantage. They should keep exploiting it throughout this series.

4. Rockets need Green to score

It's been a tale of two Jalen Greens thus far. Game 1 was a disaster for the young guard. Last night, he was the Rockets' best player.

Green had 38 points on 13/25 shooting from the field. He was a remarkable 8/18 from the three-point line. Green was a game-changing presence. It should be noted that he defended Curry with gusto throughout the night.

The Rockets shouldn't rely on this strong of a performance. That would be unreasonable. Green played like one of the best players in the NBA in this game, and he won't do that on a nightly basis.

That said, he can't have another Game 1. The Rockets need offensive production from Green. Sengun is more consistent, but when Green is firing, the duo presents opponents with a difficult offensive dynamic to guard.

They could carry the Rockets to a series win.