The Warriors' defense in Game 1 vs the Rockets was really good:
Houston scored 106 points, shot just below 46 percent from the field, turned the ball over 16 times and only got three fastbreak points.
The Warriors' defense in Game 2 was not good.
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SIGN UP HERE Houston scored 127 points, shot over 51 percent from the field, turned the ball over 14 times and got 12 fastbreak points.
[LISTEN: Warriors Outsiders Podcast -- 'We got what we deserved' in Game 2 loss]
"It's funny -- after Game 1, the focus was on Klay getting 15 3-point shots off ... now the focus is on us giving up layups to Ariza and it just shows there is a very small difference in terms of what's going on from one game to the next," Steve Kerr said on KNBR 680 on Thursday. "But the results can be dramatic.
"And I really do believe that the biggest factor is just the emotional edge. The anger of getting blown out in Game 1 fueled them and the human nature reaction of maybe letting our guard down a little bit happened to us."
It really was amazing how little resistance Klay Thompson experienced in Game 1:
The Rockets did a great job in Game 2, holding Klay to just eight points on 3-for-11 from the field. He only attempted four triples.
How did Houston accomplish that?
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"More than anything, it was the pace of the game and it was our lack of defensive intensity that didn't allow us to get in to transition because a lot of Klay's 3s in the first game were out of transition and coming off of our defense," Kerr explained. "And I think that's the big change you'll see in Game 3 -- I think you'll see a much more focused, intense defense. I think you'll see more runouts, you'll see more open shots for our guards.
"And we're obviously gonna try to open things up, get our crowd into it and it should be fun."
| Game | Result/Schedule |
|---|---|
| Game 1 | Warriors 119, Rockets 106 |
| Game 2 | Rockets 127, Warriors 105 |
| Game 3 | Oakland -- Sunday, May 20th at 5pm |
| Game 4 | Oakland -- Tuesday, May 22nd at 6pm |
| Game 5 | Houston -- Thursday, May 24th at 6pm |
| Game 6 | Oakland -- Saturday, May 26th at 6pm |
| Game 7 | Houston -- Monday, May 28th at 6pm |
Drew Shiller is the co-host of Warriors Outsiders. Follow him on Twitter @DrewShiller