We know that both the Rockets and Mavericks have little-to-no chance of getting out of the first round. What we didn’t know was that game one of both series would be absolute blowouts. Golden State played Houston in Oakland after the Toronto/Pacers game and blew them out 104-78. Dallas got roughed up even worse, losing 108-70 in their matchup with the Thunder.
Warriors vs. Rockets
As usual, Houston gave up a lot of shots which resulted in a lot of points. What’s unusual is that Houston had a very hard time putting up points of their own; 78 was one point shy of their season-low. The Rockets shot just 36% from the field, and James Harden was their leading scorer with 17.
Houston was able to get to the foul line 24 times in the game. Dwight Howard was aggressive enough to shoot 11 times, but he only connected on four; James Harden, the league leader in free throw makes and attempts, didn’t attempt a single shot from the charity stripe in the loss.
Stephen Curry had a game-high 24 despite being limited to just under 20 minutes with an ankle injury. Curry missed a shot with 2:12 left in the second quarter and tweaked his ankle while turning back to play defense. He went to the bench, got it taped and tried to come back and play, but he couldn’t. 16 of his 24 points came in the first, and most of them came after a little scuffle between him and Patrick Beverley.
Klay Thompson had 16 points, and Draymond Green had 12 points, ten boards, and four blocks.
The next game of the series is in Oakland on Monday at 10:30 PM EST. Curry is questionable for this game due to that ankle injury.
Thunder vs. Mavericks
This was a profound statement made by the Thunder in their opening game. Oklahoma City pretty much got whatever they wanted against Dallas, outshooting them 45% to 30%, outrebounding them 56-33, and out-assisting them 23-16. Russell Westbrook was the game leader in points and assists with 24 and 11, and he had an astronomical plus/minus of +39. Kevin Durant had 23 points, five rebounds, and five assists, but his plus/minus was only +28.
Serge Ibaka had 17 points, nine rebounds, three blocks, and the second-highest plus/minus on the team with +36. Enes Kanter and his moustache had 16 points, and 13 rebounds off the bench.
We shouldn’t expect the Mavericks to perform like this for the rest of the series. However, it is a sign showing just how overmatched they are talent-wise. Dirk Nowitzki was the leading scorer with 18 points on 7/15 shooting; the rest of the team was 18/69 (26%) from the field and scored just 52 points. There’s no doubt that they’re missing Chandler Parsons, but he would’ve only done so much to help them.
Game two is set for Monday at 8:30 PM EST in Oklahoma City.
