Explosion! The Warriors reversed the Rockets in the tiebreak, and the firepower on the road to advancement is fully opened, and the subsequent journey is full of suspense

On May 5, the first round of the NBA playoffs, the G7 in the West burned in the Houston Toyota Center. The Golden State Warriors defeated the Houston Rockets 103-89 away, completing the "Black Seven Wonders" 4-3 with a total score, and advancing to the Western Conference semi-finals with a strong score. This game is not only the ultimate test of the strength and resilience of both teams, but also a highlight for the entire first round of the playoffs series.

Match Process Review

The Warriors showed the momentum of winning and made a 10-4 fantasy start. However, the young Rockets responded quickly and equalized the score with a 9-3 offensive. After that, the two sides fell into a stalemate and the scores rose alternately. At the critical moment, the Warriors' Hilde stood up and he made two three-pointers in a row, especially a buzzer-beating three-pointer, helping the Warriors end the first quarter 23-19. In this quarter, Hield scored 8 points on 3 of 3 shots, showing an excellent feel. In the second quarter, Hilde continued his hot state, with a accurate three-pointer on the outside, and scored 14 points in 5 of 6 shots in a single quarter. Under his leadership, the Warriors were in control and extended their lead to double digits, with the Warriors leading the Rockets 12 points 51-39 at halftime.

The change of sides and the Rockets launched a fierce counterattack, narrowing the gap to single digits with a net victory over the Warriors 23-19 in the third quarter. But Curry, Butler and Zhu Meng Green of the Warriors withstood the pressure and stabilized the situation.

became the performance time for the Warriors in the last quarter. Curry took the lead in scoring 5 points in a row. Faced with the Rockets' counterattack, Curry and Hilder blossomed inside and outside. Curry broke through and made layups in a row, Hilder made three-pointers from the outside. The Warriors took the game away with a 12-0 attack wave and finally secured the victory with a score of 103-89 and successfully advanced.

Player performance analysis

Warriors

Stephen Curry: As the core and soul of the Warriors, Curry contributed comprehensive data in this game with 22 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 blocks. Although the three-pointer feels a little less than the touch and the number of shots outside the three-point line is limited, his breakthroughs, passing and defensive contributions at critical moments of the game are still the key factors for the team's victory. Especially in the last quarter, Curry's continuous breakthrough layups greatly hit the Rockets' morale and stabilized the game. His restraint on the court made the Rockets' defense lose one's attention and create a lot of offensive opportunities for his teammates.

Buddy Hilde: He is undoubtedly the biggest contributor to this game and can be called the Warriors' surprise. In the game, he made 12 of 15 shots and 9 of 11 three-pointers, scoring a game-high 33 points, plus 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks, and 1 steal, with a plus-negative value of up to +17 first place in the game. When Curry felt bad in the first half, Hilder carried the team's offensive banner. His three-pointers were like shells, constantly bombing the Rockets' defense line. In the first half, he made 8 of 9 shots and 6 of 7 three-pointers and scored 22 points, making 6 three-pointers in half, setting the highest record in the first half of the NBA history of the tiebreak, and became the fourth player in the Warriors to score 6+ three-pointers in the playoffs since the 1997-98 season. In addition, Hilder became the first player in NBA history to score at least 30 points in tiebreak 0 free throws, and his tiebreak 9 three-pointers scored in a single game to tie the first record in history. His explosion on the court completely disrupted the Rockets' defensive deployment and became an important booster for the Warriors to win the game.

Jimmy Butler: Butler contributed 20 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists in this game, and performed stably on both offense and defense. He hit key balls many times in the game at critical moments, and a three-pointer in the third quarter stabilized the Warriors and laid the foundation for the team's efforts in the final quarter. He also actively confronted on the defensive end, limiting the performance of Rockets players and is an important figure in the team's stability of the morale.

Draymond Green: Dream Chasing Green scored 16 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 blocks in this game, and he showed his comprehensive skills as always. On the offensive end, he can create opportunities for his teammates through support and his own breakthroughs; on the defensive end, his tough defense and excellent awareness of assisting defense have repeatedly destroyed the Rockets' offense, especially the restrictions on Rockets' inside players, greatly reducing the opponent's offensive efficiency at the basket. His passion and leadership on the court also greatly encouraged the morale of his teammates.

Rockets

Amen Thompson: Amen Thompson performed well in this game, scoring 24 points and 9 rebounds, showing the vitality and potential of young players. He dared to break through in the game, used his physical advantage to attack the Warriors' inside line, creating many scoring opportunities for the Rockets. However, with the team's overall offensive efficiency, his personal performance is difficult to reverse the situation of the game.

Alperen Shin-kyung: Shin-kyung contributed 21 points, 14 rebounds, 5 assists throughout the game, showing strong dominance in the interior. He can use his footsteps and skills to score at the basket on the offensive end, and he can also protect the rebounds on the defensive end. However, when defending him, the Warriors adopted strategies such as double-teaming and front-circling defense, which limited his offensive shots to a certain extent and affected the overall smoothness of the Rockets' offense.

Fred Van Vritte: Van Vritte scored 17 points and 7 rebounds, and as the team's backcourt core, he played a certain role in organizing the team's offense. But when facing the Warriors' high-intensity defense, his shooting efficiency was not high, and he made some mistakes at critical moments of the game, failing to lead the team to a reversal.

Jaylen Green: Jaylen Green was in poor form in this game, scoring 8 points and 4 rebounds on just 3 of 8 shots. Under the targeted defense of the Warriors, his performance on the offensive end was greatly restricted and he did not perform as much as he deserved, which also had a great impact on the Rockets' offense.

Game tactic analysis

Warriors

Offensive tactics: The Warriors adopted a multi-point blooming strategy on the offensive end in this game. On the one hand, they made full use of Curry's restraint, Curry attracted a lot of defensive attention from the Rockets and created opportunities for teammates to shoot open shots. Players such as Hild, Butler were able to get a lot of mobile phone opportunities on the outside, and Hild showed his power outside the three-point line. On the other hand, the team focuses on the transfer of the ball and finds the best offensive opportunity by constantly passing the ball. The Warriors have considerable assists throughout the game and the cooperation between the players is tacit. In addition, in the last quarter, the Warriors strengthened their impact on the inside, Curry's breakthrough and Butler and others' cutting into the inside disrupted the Rockets' inside defense and laid the foundation for the team to open the score.

Defensive tactics: On the defensive end, the Warriors focused on the core players of the Rockets. Shin Kyung adopted a strategy of double-teaming and front-circling defense, limiting his catch and attack in the inside. Against outside players such as Van Frett and Jaylen Green, the defensive intensity was strengthened, interfering with their shooting, and greatly reducing the Rockets' overall offensive efficiency. At the same time, the Warriors did a great job in defensive rebounding, effectively reducing the Rockets' chances of second attacks and creating conditions for the team's rapid counterattack.

Rockets

Offensive tactics: The Rockets mainly rely on Shin Kyung's singles in the inside and three-pointers from outside players on the offensive end. Shin Kyung has good offensive ability in the interior, but facing the Warriors' double-team defense, his goal was not timely enough, which led to the team's offense sometimes stagnation. Under the tight defense of the Warriors, the outside players have low three-point shooting percentage and have failed to effectively open up the offensive situation. In addition, the Rockets lack effective off-ball running and coordination in offense and rely too much on individual singles, which makes the Warriors' defense easier to arrange.

Defensive Tactics: When defending Curry of the Warriors, the Rockets adopted a multi-player double-team strategy to try to limit Curry's three-point shooting. But this also led to other Warriors players getting more open opportunities, and Hilder and others took this opportunity to explode on the outside. When defending the Warriors' overall offense, the Rockets' defensive rotation was not timely enough, and many missed situations made the Warriors score easily.

Warriors' future prospects

Warriors successfully eliminated the Rockets and advanced to the Western Conference semi-finals, and their next opponent will be the Minnesota Timberwolves who eliminated the Lakers in the first round. The two teams maintained a 2-2 draw in the regular season confrontation this season, and their strength was comparable.

From the Warriors' own perspective, their advantage lies in the team's chemistry and rich playoff experience. Veterans such as Curry and Green are trustworthy in their performance at critical moments, and the explosion of role players such as Hilder in the series has also added more offensive firepower to the team. However, the team also has some hidden dangers, such as the team's inside defense may face greater pressure when facing the Timberwolves' double tower combination of Gobert and Randall. In addition, the team's three-point shooting percentage has certain ups and downs in the series, and how to maintain a stable outside feel will be a problem that the team needs to solve.

At the tactical level, facing the Timberwolves' double towers, the Warriors need to make targeted arrangements in the interior defense, and perhaps they can adopt the flexible mobility of a small lineup to strengthen the fight against rebounds, and at the same time use the three-pointers from the outside to open up space and impact the Timberwolves' interior defense. On the offensive end, continue to play Curry's core role, drive teammates to score, while maintaining the offensive state of the role players and blooming more points. As long as the Warriors can maintain their focus and execution in the tiebreak battle, they have the opportunity to create miracles again in the series against the Timberwolves and move towards higher goals.

This tiebreak battle with the Rockets is just a stage in the Warriors' playoff journey. In the next Western Conference semi-finals, they will face more severe challenges. Let's wait and see the Warriors' wonderful performance.