The Houston Rockets’ 109-94 victory over the Golden State Warriors in Game 2 of the opening round of the Western Conference playoffs Wednesday featured a total of six technical fouls, a flagrant 1, minor scuffles and multiple “F— you, Draymond!” chants at Toyota Center.
In other words, coach Ime Udoka and the Rockets felt right at home.
“If it gets chippy, we’ve seen over the last two years that’s worked in our favor for the most part, gets us amped up,” Udoka said.
“But when you have a lead, [and you’re] up 20, and things start to happen, you understand why. That’s kind of the last resort by teams. You’ve got to keep your composure at that point and just stay calm.”
A Fred VanVleet steal led to a Jalen Green layup with 5:23 remaining that gave the Rockets a 19-point lead. In the immediate aftermath, VanVleet and Draymond Green stood toe to toe jawing near the Rockets bench. As the conversation escalated, players from both sides gathered and pushed and shoved in a scrum while Warriors officials worked to separate Green from the crowd.
Green downplayed the incident, saying he and VanVleet were “just talking” and “everybody came and surrounded and started pushing.”
Warriors coach Steve Kerr took exception to some of the antics from the sellout crowd of 18,055.
“I would prefer if fans could use a little more discretion and remember the guy has kids. I don’t know, maybe I’m old school. But I’m all for fans cheering for their team and if they want to yell at the opponents, great. But I just think ‘F you’ is a little much.”
