Eric Paschall is feeling himself.
The Warriors rookie scored more points in his first three NBA starts (79) than any player since Jeremy Lin (89) lit up Madison Square Garden. Paschall led Golden State, sans injured stars Draymond Green, D'Angelo Russell, Stephen Curry and Klay Tompson, into Houston on Thursday to face James Harden and the Rockets, and the rookie was not intimidated.
Paschall went right at Harden in the second quarter, drawing an and-1 on an insolation play against the 2017-18 NBA MVP and jawing at him after.
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SIGN UP HERE Paschall even raised the roof in celebration after a dunk later in the second quarter, but the food got to eating soon after.
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The Rockets closed out the first half on a 23-8 run after Paschall's trash talk. Harden scored 13 himself and assisted on two more baskets.
The rookie learned a valuable lesson: Don't poke the beard.
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