The Golden State Warriors’ win over the Houston Rockets on Friday night didn’t just feel like the loss of a game, but the loss of much more. DeMarcus Cousins recognized that.
The Warriors big man, who missed the series due to a thigh injury, put things into context after the game.
“That s— hurt. I know that s— hurt,” Cousins said, according to The Athletic’s Anthony Slater.
Why did it hurt?
The Rockets pushed the Warriors to a seventh game in the conference finals last year and thought that the injury to Chris Paul is the only thing that prevented them from toppling Golden State. The two teams met again this year, and Houston was given a bit of a gift with Kevin Durant suffering a calf injury in Game 5. Houston lost that game, then Game 6 at home to get eliminated.
The Rockets have now been eliminated from the playoffs by the Warriors three of the past four seasons. While it’s no time for them to give up, losing to a Durant-less team at home stings. Mike D’Antoni even conceded that.
