Hall of Famer and three-time NBA champion Dwyane Wade could not believe how the Houston Rockets are getting away with some fouls in their brutal defense against Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry.
“From a playoff standpoint, I loved the fact that the whistles stay in the pocket,” Wade said on “The Time Out” podcast. “I love it, we ain’t in the regular season no more, we’re in the playoffs. I love the fact that the refs are looking at the players like ‘play through it.’
“When it comes to Steph, it’s crazy what you get away with, [but] I love it, this is playoff basketball, you don’t want to see everyone shooting free-throws in the playoffs, I need you to show me, go and get a bucket.”
Curry has only gone to the free-throw line six times in the first two games of the series. The 3.0 free-throw attempt per game in the first round is 2.3 less than his playoff career average.
Steph Curry on Rockets’ Bullying Tactics
Curry epitomized the size disadvantage the Warriors have against the Rockets.
“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,” Curry told reporters after their Game 2 loss.
Curry was held to 20 points in the Game 2 loss after scoring 31 in a Game 1 win. The Rockets’ brutal physical defense forced him to a 6-of-15 shooting night. They constantly doubled him especially after Jimmy Butler exited in the first quarter with a pelvis contusion following a hard fall.
But Curry was proud of their gallant fight against the Rockets’ bullying tactics.
“We held up a pretty good fight both games,” Curry said. “We just let Jalen [Green] get going a little bit and he got free to space. There’s no reason he should get up 18 3s.”
Jalen Green Outduels Steph Curry in Game 2
Green bounced back from a seven-point performance in Game 1 with a historic 38-point explosion in Game 2.
The former No. 2 overall pick admitted he got jitters in Game 1, his playoff debut, which led to his 3-of-15 shooting.
“The lights were bright, the crowd was here, the court looked huge,” Green said of his jittery Game 1 performance. “So I couldn’t get a chance to settle in. My legs were a little shaky.”
Green fired on all cylinders in Game 2 and made history as the youngest player at 23 years and 74 days old in the Rockets franchise to score 38 points, surpassing franchise icon and Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon, who was 23 years and 95 days old on April 26, 1986, when he did the scoring feat.
Green also became the youngest guard in NBA history to record at least eight 3-pointers in a playoff game.
The Rockets took advantage of Butler’s early exit as they padded their eight-point lead to 20 several times before cruising to the 109-94 win, their playoff victory since 2020.
Green feasted on the Warriors’ suddenly vulnerable perimeter defense. The 23-year-old guard added six assists, three steals and four rebounds to outduel Curry.
