Following the Golden State Warriors’ win over the Memphis Grizzlies in initial Play-In action Tuesday, the Houston Rockets’ first round matchup is officially set.
Having locked up the No. 2 seed long ago with a 52-30 record through the regular season, the Rockets have patiently waited for the Warriors and Grizzlies to duke it out for the No. 7 seed. And Golden State has now come out the victor.
Houston shocked the NBA in grabbing the two-seed, coasting off a mix of first-time All-Star Alperen Sengun, experienced veterans in Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks, as well as a core group of youngsters.
Tuesday night’s bout was a close one, with the Warriors jumping out to a massive first-half lead before the Grizzlies ground their way back bit by bit. Memphis’ guard Ja Morant saw a tough ankle-roll in the third quarter, and Warriors superstar Steph Curry appeared to re-tweak a thumb injury in the fourth of the feisty game.
Eventually, the Warriors were able to outlast Memphis via a late Curry onslaught and clutch free throw hitting. Longtime stars Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green were also catalysts to the win, with the former scoring 33 points and the latter adding a patented 10 assists, though he fouled out.
The Warriors have long pained the Rockets, dating all the way back to James Harden’s days of deep Playoffs runs in Rockets’ red.
In a streak that dated all the way back to 2021, the Warriors had beaten the Rockets 15-straight times, with the streak finally ending via and exorcising on Dec. 11, 2024. Even still, the Warriors won three of five matchups versus Houston on the season, and offer a giant standing in the way of the second round.
Even worse, the Warriors have generally been one of the hottest teams in the NBA since acquiring Butler for forward Andrew Wiggins from Miami.
With their first round opponent now set, the Rockets can commence with singular scouting. They’ve had the disadvantage of not knowing their opponent for a few days now, but can now move forward with scouting solely Golden State.
The Rockets will kick off their first round on Sunday, April 20. The time and channel are still TBD with more Play-In action to come.
