HOUSTON — There were the Houston Rockets, grabbing rebounds and nailing dunks, and twisting and shouting and opening up a handsome 11-point halftime lead over the reigning champion Golden State Warriors on Monday night.
And instead of appreciating these underdogs roaring in the final and deciding game of the Western Conference Finals, all I could think was: When will the Warriors release the Hounds of Hell?
This is the soul-crushing trick Golden State plays on its opponents. The Warriors stumble around for a half or more, looking distracted, vulnerable, lost maybe. So it was for the Warriors this night in Houston: Draymond Green, the Warriors’ 6-foot-7 center, was not shooting the ball so much as heaving it like a paving stone.