After a hard-fought Game 3, the Houston Rockets fell to the Golden State Warriors 104-93, handing the Warriors a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series. While the game’s outcome was the primary focus, a postgame exchange between Jalen Green and Draymond Green quickly became a topic of discussion.
Following the final buzzer, Green had some words for Draymond, which led to a brief, heated exchange. The Rockets guard was asked about the incident during his postgame interview, where he responded with a pointed remark.
“It was just talking, you know, he can’t really do much of anything else, so talking is his only way,” Green said, implying that the veteran Warriors forward relied on his words to engage. The comment reflected some of the tension between the two players, but Green appeared to brush it off.
On the court, Jalen Green had a tough night, struggling to get going offensively. When asked why the Warriors were able to limit him, he pointed to Houston’s defensive rotations.
“Our rotations were just pretty poor today. We got to be better at rotations,” Green admitted. “I mean, we know what to do, we’ve done it before. We just got to get back to that.”
The Rockets were able to limit the Warriors defensively for the most part, holding them to 95 points until the final three minutes of the game. However, Green acknowledged that the offense was the primary issue for his team.
“It was one of them games we didn’t score well, put the ball in the basket,” Green said. “Once we mix that in with playing defense, it’s our game.”
Stephen Curry had an explosive night for Golden State, pouring in 36 points, nine assists, and seven rebounds, leading the Warriors to victory. Despite missing Jimmy Butler due to injury, the Warriors showed resilience, with Buddy Hield contributing 17 points off the bench and Gary Payton II adding 16 points, including 11 in the final quarter.
For the Rockets, Fred VanVleet led the charge with 17 points, while Alperen Sengun added 15 points and 11 rebounds. Despite their efforts, Houston struggled to find an offensive rhythm, shooting just 39.5% from the field and committing 14 turnovers.
The Rockets know they need to tighten their rotations and improve their scoring if they want to avoid falling further behind in the series. Game 4 is set for Monday at Chase Center, and Houston will be looking to bounce back, with Jalen Green and his teammates hoping to turn the tide.
