The Houston Rockets made a nice run at the end of Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals on Thursday to make it a 1-point game, and they had a chance to win the game on their final possession but they turned the ball over and lost 99-98 to fall behind 2-0 in the series.
In light of the failed final play by Houston, many second-guessed Rockets coach Kevin McHale for not calling a timeout to set up a play. McHale explained afterwards why he didn’t call time.
“I will take our best player coming downhill in a broken court any day of the week to win the game. That’s where James (Harden) feasts,” he said.
McHale is exactly right. That’s precisely the situation you want — Harden controlling the ball and driving on a defense that didn’t have a chance to get organized. You have to credit Golden State’s defense for doubling him up well and forcing the turnover. When Harden saw he had nowhere to go, he should have tried to put up a shot rather than pass out to Dwight Howard. Unfortunately for him there wasn’t a better-shooting teammate around to hoist that ball, because Howard was wide open.
The Warriors played great defense on the play and earned that win. What more can you say?
