Philippines, 10 Oct 2025
  Home >> News

 


BOXERS

CURRENT CHAMPIONS 

FORMER CHAMPIONS   

RATINGS                       

NEWS           

FORUM        

FIGHT GALLERIES        

RING CARD GIRLS        


 
 
News  


Warriors Shoot Down Rockets, 95-85 as Celtics, Cavaliers, Thunder Take Care of Business


PhilBoxing.com




Golden State continued to upset the form charts in the West as the #7 seed Warriors wrecked the #2 Houston Rockets, 95-85 in the opener of their first-round playoff series at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.  

In the other matches, the higher-seeded teams took care of business as the West #1 Oklahoma City Thunder obliterated the #8 Memphis Grizzlies, 131-80, while in the East, #1 Cleveland Cavaliers turned back #8 Miami Heat, 121-100, and #2 Boston Celtics easily dispatched the #7 Orlando Magic, 103-86, with all the games held on the higher-seeded teams' home floors.  

Yesterday, the form chart didn't hold up in the West as the #3 Los Angeles Lakers were soundly defeated by the #6 Minnesota Timberwolves, 117-95, even as #4 Denver Nuggets held off the #5 Los Angeles Clippers in a dogfight, 100-98. In the East, both #3 New York Knicks and #4 Indiana Pacers kept their home-court advantage by beating #6 Detroit Pistons 123-112 and #5 Milwaukee Bucks, 117-98, respectively.

The Warriors came to Houston smarting from a home game loss to the Rockets that broke their four-game winning streak and all but spoiled their chance for outright automatic qualification in the playoffs. The Rockets could well afford to lose that game as they were already assured of the #2 seed in the West, but they wanted to show the Warriors their youthful might and proceeded to play spoiler.

Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler, and company came into the series to show the new kids on the block that Golden State is not a team to be trifled with or, worse, underestimated.

But the youth-laden Rockets and their coach Ime Udoka were just as eager to show a Warriors team starring a pair of players in their mid-30s what they were capable of.

They did just that by opening fast and strong, immediately taking the lead and initiative as the tall pair of Alperen Sengun and Steven Adams dominated the inside, with Jalen Green, Amen Thompson, Tari Eason, and Dillon Brooks alternately flexing their size and muscle against the Warriors.

It was very evident that the Rockets were trying to overwhelm the Warriors with size.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr, however, was alert to the ploy, and he immediately fielded Quentin Post and Kevon Looney alternately to at least reinforce their ceiling in support of Draymond Green. He also called on veteran defensive guards Moses Moody and Gary Payton II to harass Jalen Green and Fred VanVleet, the only other veteran on the Rockets team.

Meanwhile, Curry and Butler started to assert their mastery of the court on the offensive end, and after a close 21-18 first quarter, the Warriors found themselves in the lead by the end of the first period, 47-34.

The Warriors even stretched the lead to 23, 66-43, midway through the third quarter as Mike Podziemski caught fire, and Curry and Butler appeared unstoppable.

However, a fierce fightback by the Rockets, helped by sloppy plays by the Warriors, enabled Houston to chip away at the lead, with the third period ending 69-60 for Golden State.

Emboldened, the Rockets continued their rally, and Thompson even managed to whittle down the margin to three, 79-76, near the midpoint of the final quarter.

But that was their last hurrah as Curry showed that he's among the best finishers in the league, and Butler proved he's not called "Playoff Jimmy" for nothing, as they powered the Warriors to a cruising, trouble-free victory.

Only three Warriors ended with double figures in scoring, led by Curry with 31 points, Butler with 25 points, and Podziemski with 14 points.

But that was enough to beat a Rockets team that relies on "scoring by committee" to win, which they were not able to do in this game. Sengun, who did the most scoring, finished with 26 points, but he was supported by only three other Rockets (Brooks, Jabari Smith, and VanVleet) who could only score an average of 10 points each. Thompson and Green were limited to just 8 points and 7 points, respectively.  

What a seasoned team like the Warriors did against an upstart team like the Houston Rockets was schooling, a systematic demolition even.

Game two will be played still in Houston.

The author Teodoro Medina Reynoso is a veteran boxing radio talk show host living in the Philippines. He can be reached at teddyreynoso@yahoo.com and by phone 09215309477.


Click here to view a list of other articles written by Teodoro Medina Reynoso.


Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:

  • JARON ‘BOOTS’ ENNIS AND UISMA LIMA PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES
    , Fri, 10 Oct 2025
  • RED OWL BOXING: BOXFEST XVI – OFFICIAL WEIGH-IN RESULTS
    , Fri, 10 Oct 2025
  • Irish amateur star Jim Donovan Right back in ring after pro debut
    , Fri, 10 Oct 2025
  • Robert Racasa Named as the Sole Philippine Representative to the 2025 World Memory Championships in Mumbai
    By Marlon Bernardino, , Fri, 10 Oct 2025
  • “Pitbull” Cruz Battles Skilled Lamont Roach Next!
    By Carlos Costa, , Fri, 10 Oct 2025
  • Eddie Hearn Warns: Dana White's Push to Amend Ali Act Could Hide Fighter Revenues and Undermine Boxer Protections
    By Gabriel F. Cordero, , Fri, 10 Oct 2025
  • SEBASTIAN "EL TRUENO" JUAREZ TRAINING CAMP NOTES
    , Fri, 10 Oct 2025
  • WBC No. 2 Cruiserweight Ryan Rozicki reinjured
    , Fri, 10 Oct 2025
  • DAVE ALLEN VS ARSLANBEK MAKHMUDOV SHEFFIELD PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES
    , Fri, 10 Oct 2025
  • HANOI OPEN DAY TWO: CHUA, GORST, BIADO, SHAW AND DUONG CRUISE INTO LAST 64 IN HANOI
    , Fri, 10 Oct 2025
  • BOSTAN AND FAWAZ TRADE VERBAL BLOWS IN SHEFFIELD CITY CENTRE FACE-OFF AHEAD OF TITLE REMATCH – LIVE ON DAZN
    , Fri, 10 Oct 2025
  • Yoelvis Gomez Set to Face Unbeaten Antraveous Ingram in Title Clash on DAZN
    , Fri, 10 Oct 2025
  • Dante Kirkman Set to Make Southern California Debut Against Power Puncher Wesley Vanderlinden on October 23 at Fight Club OC
    , Fri, 10 Oct 2025
  • 8th AQ Prime FIDE Standard Open chessfest slated
    By Dong Secuya, , Thu, 09 Oct 2025
  • A Filipino and an American Homecoming
    By Emmanuel Rivera, RRT, , Thu, 09 Oct 2025
  • Tragedy Strikes Again: Arturo Gatti Jr., Son of Boxing Legend, Found Dead at 17 in Mexico
    By Dong Secuya, , Thu, 09 Oct 2025
  • Golden State Making a Bid for NBA Title
    By Teodoro Medina Reynoso, , Thu, 09 Oct 2025
  • JOHANN CHUA LAUNCHES TITLE DEFENCE WITH DOMINANT START IN HANOI | 2025 HANOI OPEN POOL CHAMPIONSHIP
    , Thu, 09 Oct 2025
  • RED-HOT CUBAN MIDDLEWEIGHT YOENLI HERNANDEZ: “I’M READY WILLING AND ABSOLUTELY ABLE TO FACE THE BIG NAMES IN MY DIVISION.”
    , Thu, 09 Oct 2025
  • BOOTS ENNIS GOES HEAD-TO-HEAD WITH LIMA AHEAD OF 154LB DEBUT – LIVE ON DAZN
    , Wed, 08 Oct 2025
  • ALLEN AND MAKHMUDOV MEET FOR FIRST FACE-OFF IN SHEFFIELD AHEAD OF HUGE HEAVYWEIGHT SHOWDOWN – LIVE ON DAZN
    , Wed, 08 Oct 2025
  • Amateur Boxer Tyrone Welch Dies After Match in Saginaw
    By Gabriel F. Cordero, , Wed, 08 Oct 2025
  • AJ Lim Captures Fourth PCA Men’s Singles Title, Extends Dominance in Philippine Tennis
    By Marlon Bernardino, , Wed, 08 Oct 2025
  • THRILLA IN MANILA GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY 18: JOE FRAZIER VS. GEORGE FOREMAN FIRST ENCOUNTER - THE SUNSHINE SHOWDOWN
    By Maloney L. Samaco, , Wed, 08 Oct 2025
  • 5th Zhengxing Cup Philippine Xiangqi Rapid Open tournament on October 12
    By Marlon Bernardino, , Wed, 08 Oct 2025




  •  



     
    PhilBoxing.com has been created to support every aspiring
    Filipino boxer and the Philippine boxing scene in general.
    Please send comments to feedback@philboxing.com


    PRIVATE POLICY | LEGAL DISCLAIMER
    developed and maintained by dong secuya
    © 2025 philboxing.com.