The Houston Rockets proved to the rest of the teams in the playoffs that their impressive regular season wasn’t just a fluke. The Rockets evened their first-round series against the Golden State Warriors with a dominant 109-94 victory on Wednesday night.
After the game, Rockets head coach Ime Udoka spoke about the atmosphere in the arena on Wednesday.
“If it gets chippy, we’ve seen over the last two years that’s worked in our favor for the most part, gets us amped up,” Udoka said after the game, per ESPN. “But when you have a lead, [and you’re] up 20, and things start to happen, you understand why.
That’s kind of the last resort by teams. You’ve got to keep your composure at that point and just stay calm.”
Udoka also spoke about how the game’s chippiness, especially involving some tense moments with Warriors forward Draymond Green, seemed to ignite the Rockets.
“It seems to always do that. That’s who we are. It’s our identity for the most part. Like I said at the start of the playoffs: We don’t have to flip a switch and try to get tough or get more aggressive.
“So, that carries over into the playoffs. I don’t mind it. It’s good for us. It’s who we kind of are, minus the towel throw. You’d like to keep your composure at that point. I told Tari that. He’s not even in the game, so he shouldn’t be over there.
“But it’s what we’ve built ourselves on, the identity, and everybody’s bought into that. It makes us who we are. So, I think our guys all kind of thrive on that. We’ve just got to keep our composure, especially when you’ve got a lead.”
The Rockets may have won on Wednesday night, but things are far from over. They’ll have to defeat the Warriors in California in one of the next two games to reclaim home-court advantage heading back to Houston.
