Draymond Green addressed the media following the Golden State Warriors’ 109-94 defeat to the Houston Rockets in Game 2, expressing frustration with the team’s inability to close the gap despite multiple second-half pushes.
The Western Conference first-round series is now tied 1-1 heading into Saturday’s Game 3 in San Francisco.
Golden State’s night was complicated by the early exit of Jimmy Butler, who suffered a pelvis contusion after being undercut during a rebound sequence in the first quarter.
Green said he attempted to box out Rockets big man Amen Thompson when Butler went down and admitted, “I don’t know. I see it,” when asked to clarify the play.
Losing Butler was a major blow, according to Green, who described the All-Star forward as “one of your top dogs” and acknowledged the challenge of adjusting without him.
“It’s tough to overcome,” Green said. “But thought we did a good job fighting, giving ourselves a chance. We just couldn’t get over the hump.”
Despite being outplayed for most of the night, the Warriors managed to cut a 20-point deficit to 11 in the fourth quarter following a 9-0 run sparked by back-to-back Quinten Post threes.
That surge was quickly halted after Jalen Green, who scored a career-playoff-high 38 points, answered with a flagrant foul and a step-back three, regaining control for Houston.
Draymond Green commented on Jalen’s performance, saying, “He made some shots. He got going early… we’ll figure out what he did better and come back ready.”
The loss also came with a hostile environment as Green was targeted by the Houston crowd with profane chants, which he brushed off, saying, “It’s not original… that belongs to Boston.”
Green downplayed a fourth-quarter altercation with Rockets guard Fred VanVleet that led to a technical foul, stating that “nothing happened” despite a crowd of players converging.
He also remained uncertain about Butler’s availability for Game 3 but stressed the team would evaluate day by day and adapt offensively if needed.
“He’s tough,” Green said. “We’ve kind of tailored our offense a bit around him… that will have to change a bit.”
The Rockets out-rebounded the Warriors 47-33 and held them to just 41.3 percent shooting from the field.
Golden State struggled to find offensive rhythm with Brandin Podziemski going scoreless in 14 minutes while dealing with a stomach illness.
Stephen Curry led the team with 20 points and nine assists and reached 4,017 career postseason points, becoming the 11th player in NBA history to surpass 4,000.
Game 3 will tip off Saturday at Chase Center, where the Warriors have won 29 of 41 games this season.
