Golden State Warriors

After an impressive showing to open the series, the Golden State Warriors got hit back by the Houston Rockets in a 109-94 loss in Game 2 on Thursday night to even things at one game apiece.

Speaking to reporters after the game, Stephen Curry explained the Rockets' strategy so far has been using their size and "try to bully" the Warriors so they don't play their style of basketball:

"There were a couple crashes that happened out there, but we know what they’re trying to do—use their size advantage at times to try to bully us. We held up a pretty good fight both games. We just let Jalen get going a little bit and he got free to space. There’s no reason he should get up 18 3s."

Even though the Warriors felt like Game 2 was less physical than Game 1, it did show up in a big way toward the end of the first quarter. Jimmy Butler took a hard fall directly on his side after being undercut by Amen Thompson while going for a rebound.

Butler took his two free-throw attempts before being removed from the game. He didn't return and will undergo an MRI on Thursday.

The Rockets are built on being a big, physical team that wants to dominate opponents into submission. They ranked fourth in the NBA in defensive rating during the regular season and have held the Warriors to an average of 94.5 points per contest in the first two games of this series.

Golden State's biggest concern coming into the playoffs was a lack of size. Butler is the tallest player in the starting five at 6'7". No one would accuse a team with Butler and Draymond Green of not being physical, but the height and weight advantage favors the Rockets.

When the Warriors lost Butler from this game, the Rockets took advantage. They had a 47-33 rebounding advantage, including an 11-7 edge on the offensive glass.

Jalen Green, after going 3-of-15 from the field in Game 1, scored 38 points on 13-of-25 shooting. His eight three-pointers were as many as he made in the previous six games combined.

Curry and the Warriors will look to get back on track as the series shifts to Chase Center for Game 3 on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. ET.

Even in the Golden State Warriors' 109-94 loss to the Houston Rockets in Game 2 of their Western Conference playoff series, Draymond Green is working to get under the skin of his opponents.

Green and Fred VanVleet were jawing at each other near the Rockets bench midway through the fourth quarter, leading to a brief shoving match between the two teams that resulted in the Houston crowd chanting "f--k you, Draymond" at the Warriors forward.

Speaking to reporters after the game, Green explained the heckles were "not original" and pointed out fans in Boston did it to him during the 2022 NBA Finals.

"I've been there before," he said. "Won a championship while it was happening. So yeah, it's not really original. Can't steal other people's s--t; that belongs to Boston. So, I kind of just kept pushing."

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr added Green is an "instigator" and "lightning rod," but he would have preferred if fans had used "a little more discretion and remember the guy has kids."

The taunts toward Green were the capper on a frustrating night for the Warriors. In addition to losing the game, which evens the series at one game apiece, Jimmy Butler's health is going to be a huge story going forward.

Butler left the game in the first quarter with a pelvic contusion after being undercut by Amen Thompson when he was going for a rebound. He was ruled out for the remainder of the game and will undergo an MRI on Thursday, per Tim Kawakami of the San Francisco Standard.

Even though many of the principles have changed over the years, particularly on the Rockets side, these two teams have a rich playoff history with each other. The Warriors have won all four times they've met in the postseason since 2015, including a memorable seven-game series in the Western Conference Finals in 2018.